Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Has $99.82 Million Stock Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,683,627 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 115,811 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 3.57% of Ashland worth $99,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ASH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,291,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $132,383,000 after acquiring an additional 569,740 shares during the period. Shapiro Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 172.5% in the 4th quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 670,785 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $47,934,000 after acquiring an additional 424,595 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 4th quarter worth about $28,943,000. Eminence Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 2,860,471 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $204,409,000 after acquiring an additional 212,916 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,806,922 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $200,583,000 after acquiring an additional 208,320 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Ashland Stock Up 0.9%

ASH traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $51.18. 412,841 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 428,103. The company has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of -21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.51. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $51.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Ashland Inc. has a one year low of $45.21 and a one year high of $98.44.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.79 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.14% and a negative net margin of 5.74%. The business's revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. As a group, equities 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 was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st were issued a $0.415 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This is an increase from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.