Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Purchases 36,168 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 30.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,303 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,168 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned 0.33% of Ashland worth $9,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Ashland by 212.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Ashland in the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 285.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in Ashland by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 959 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ASH shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. 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 note on Tuesday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Ashland from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Ashland from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho set a $60.00 price objective on Ashland in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ashland has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.60.

Ashland Stock Down 4.2%

NYSE:ASH traded down $2.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $49.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 460,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 548,595. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.21 and a 52-week high of $98.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -75.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.75 and a 200-day moving average of $60.79.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $514.79 million. Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.415 per share. This is an increase from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is currently -69.17%.

About Ashland

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.