Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 52,400 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in Ashland Inc. by 7.5%, holding approximately 1.42% of the company, which is valued at about $38.55 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in Ashland, including Farther Finance Advisors LLC, which boosted its stake by 2,736% during the same period.
• Ashland reported $1.04 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analyst expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.415 per share.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 650,161 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 52,400 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.42% of Ashland worth $38,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 9,100 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 33.5% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,468 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ashland in the 1st quarter worth approximately $273,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ashland by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 4,012 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 46.7% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,750 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $756,000 after buying an additional 4,058 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH stock traded up $2.5450 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.4350. The stock had a trading volume of 385,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 622,128. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.49. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.21 and a 52 week high of $90.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $463.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.34 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 6.82% and a negative net margin of 46.01%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. Ashland has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.415 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -8.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ASH shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.60.

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.