Cwm LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 237.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,551 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,948 shares during the quarter. CWM LLC's holdings in Ashland were worth $922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 2,736.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Ashland by 212.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Ashland by 63.9% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 285.7% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Ashland by 80.6% in the fourth 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on ASH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Ashland from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Mizuho set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ashland in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Ashland from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $68.40.

Ashland Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE ASH traded down $0.11 on Friday, reaching $50.61. The company had a trading volume of 136,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 655,428. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.51. The company's fifty day moving average is $51.16 and its 200 day moving average is $56.44. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.21 and a 52-week high of $98.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.11). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.14% and a negative net margin of 5.74%. The firm had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.415 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. This is an increase from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Ashland's payout ratio is -69.17%.

Ashland Company 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.