Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Acquired by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 100.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 306,810 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 153,757 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.65% of Ashland worth $21,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 959 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 994 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 302.4% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,489 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter valued at about $127,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Ashland Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE ASH traded down $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $49.30. The company had a trading volume of 507,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 540,703. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -74.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $52.26 and a 200 day moving average of $63.44. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.21 and a 1-year high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.11). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. The business had revenue of $479.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $514.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.415 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is a positive change from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is presently -69.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ASH. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. 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. decreased their target price on shares of Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $68.60.

About Ashland

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.