Bank of America Corp DE Acquires New Holdings in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 398,481 Ashland shares worth approximately $26.3 million, representing about 0.87% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 93.95% of Ashland.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with seven Buy ratings and five Holds. Ashland has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.90.
• Ashland shares opened at $69.05, within a 52-week range of $46.29 to $78.25. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, or $1.68 annually, yielding approximately 2.4%.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 398,481 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $26,256,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.87% of Ashland as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at $376,376,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,496,021 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $138,793,000 after purchasing an additional 267,741 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 648,370.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,945,412 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $128,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945,112 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $105,471,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Ashland by 13,240.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,736,173 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $101,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723,159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ashland from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ashland in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ashland from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.90.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $69.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 3.05. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.39. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $71.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.90. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.29 and a 52 week high of $78.25.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is 147.37%.

Ashland Profile

Ashland Inc NYSE: ASH is a global specialty materials company that develops and manufactures additives, ingredients and performance solutions for a range of consumer and industrial applications. Its products are designed to improve the performance, stability, texture and functionality of products made by customers in industries such as pharmaceuticals, personal care, coatings, construction, adhesives and specialty chemicals.

The company's portfolio includes cellulose-based and synthetic polymers, vinyl pyrrolidone-based products, specialty additives, pharmaceutical excipients, personal care ingredients and water-based technologies.

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