Institute for Wealth Management LLC. Invests $369,000 in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Institute for Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,219 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 46.2% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,032 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its holdings in Ashland by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 10,087 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Ashland by 276.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,392 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $735,000 after acquiring an additional 9,100 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ashland by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 155,303 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,208,000 after acquiring an additional 36,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ashland during the 1st quarter valued at $243,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Ashland from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Ashland from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.60.

Ashland Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of ASH stock opened at $48.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.52. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.21 and a fifty-two week high of $98.99. 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 issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.79 million. Ashland had a negative net margin of 5.74% and a positive return on equity of 7.14%. Ashland's revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st were given a $0.415 dividend. This is a positive change from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. Ashland's payout ratio is -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.

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