Equitable Trust Co. Purchases 5,317 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Ashland Inc. by 80.6%, acquiring an additional 5,317 shares, which increased its total to 11,917 shares worth $599,000.
• Several research firms have adjusted their ratings and price targets for Ashland, with Wells Fargo lowering its target from $53 to $52 and Mizuho from $58 to $54, while the stock maintains a consensus "Hold" rating.
• Ashland recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.415, representing an annualized yield of 3.4%, with a payout ratio of -8.86%.

Equitable Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 80.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,917 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,317 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Ashland were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Abound Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Ashland during the second quarter worth $40,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 2,736.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Ashland by 63.9% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 93.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,155 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Ashland by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,291 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ASH. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ashland from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Ashland in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Ashland in a research report on Monday, September 8th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.43.

Ashland Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of ASH opened at $49.08 on Thursday. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.21 and a 52 week high of $88.89. The firm has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.49. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $51.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.68.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter. Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. The business had revenue of $509.00 million for the quarter. Ashland has set its FY 2022 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st were paid a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is -8.86%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.