Caxton Associates LLP Invests $1.17 Million in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 20,941 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,165,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ASH. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 46,306 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 7,309 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 6.3% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 49.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 284,454 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $16,865,000 after acquiring an additional 94,067 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 1.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 387,132 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $22,953,000 after acquiring an additional 6,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 10.1% during the first 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 valued at $9,061,000 after acquiring an additional 13,989 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Ashland Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $66.39 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.31, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 3.06 and a quick ratio of 1.78. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.29 and a 1 year high of $69.66. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $63.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.83.

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). Ashland had a negative net margin of 39.03% and a positive return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $482.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $485.61 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This is a boost from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ashland's payout ratio is -10.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ASH shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Ashland from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.78.

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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