Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New Investment in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. opened a new position in Ashland, buying 106,746 shares worth about $5.94 million and representing roughly 0.23% of the company.
• Other institutional investors also increased their Ashland holdings, and institutions now own 93.95% of the stock.
• Analysts are mixed on Ashland: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $62.67, while the stock recently traded at $63.98 after the company missed quarterly EPS estimates.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 106,746 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $5,936,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.23% of Ashland as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Ashland by 18.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 46,306 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,747,000 after buying an additional 7,309 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ashland by 49.4% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 284,454 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,865,000 after acquiring an additional 94,067 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 387,132 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $22,953,000 after purchasing an additional 6,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 152,830 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,061,000 after purchasing an additional 13,989 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on ASH shares. Zacks Research cut Ashland from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ashland from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Argus lowered their price target on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.67.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $63.98 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.43. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.29 and a 52-week high of $68.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 3.06. The firm's fifty day moving average is $58.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.79.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $482.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.61 million. Ashland had a negative net margin of 39.03% and a positive return on equity of 8.06%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -10.89%.

Ashland Company Profile

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.

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