Glenmede Trust Co. NA Has $10.64 Million Stake in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Glenmede Trust Co. NA lowered its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 8.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 191,305 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 17,450 shares during the quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA owned approximately 0.42% of Ashland worth $10,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Ashland by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Ashland by 398.3% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,460 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 535.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,348 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 76.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a report on Friday. Mizuho raised their price objective on Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Seaport Research Partners upgraded Ashland from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ashland from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.90.

Ashland Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $72.56 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $64.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.41. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.29 and a 52-week high of $74.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 3.05.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Ashland's payout ratio is presently 147.37%.

Ashland Profile

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ASH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.