QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 6,332 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 46.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,032 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ASH. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its position in Ashland by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 10,087 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Ashland by 276.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,392 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $735,000 after acquiring an additional 9,100 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Ashland by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 155,303 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,208,000 after acquiring an additional 36,168 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland in the 1st quarter valued at about $243,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Ashland by 2,736.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Ashland from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Ashland from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.60.

Ashland Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:ASH traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $48.76. 1,318,967 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 550,644. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.21 and a 1-year high of $98.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.32, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.52.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.14% and a negative net margin of 5.74%. The firm had revenue of $479.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.79 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.415 per share. This is a positive change from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -69.17%.

Ashland Company Profile

Ashland Inc provides additives and specialty ingredients in the North and Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through Life Sciences, Personal Care, Specialty Additives, and Intermediates segments. The Life Sciences segment offers pharmaceutical solutions, including controlled release polymers, disintegrants, tablet coatings, thickeners, solubilizers, and tablet binders; nutrition solutions, such as thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers, and additives; and nutraceutical solutions comprising products for weight management, joint comfort, stomach and intestinal health, sports nutrition, and general wellness, as well as custom formulation, toll processing, and particle engineering solutions.