Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC Sells 46,111 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC has reduced its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 10.4%, now owning 396,317 shares worth approximately $23.5 million.
• Ashland recently reported a missed earnings estimate with an EPS of $1.04, below the expected $1.15, and their revenue declined 14.9% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.415 per share, translating to an annual yield of 2.9%, payable on September 15th.

Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC lowered its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 10.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 396,317 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 46,111 shares during the quarter. Ashland makes up about 1.7% of Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC owned 0.87% of Ashland worth $23,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 276.4% in the first 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 period. Private Trust Co. NA raised 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 valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the first quarter valued at about $273,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 13.3% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 4,012 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 4,058 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.50.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of Ashland stock traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $56.15. The stock had a trading volume of 327,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 646,050. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $90.61. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business's 50 day moving average is $52.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.71.

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

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a $0.415 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is presently -8.86%.

Ashland Profile

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.