Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Stock Position in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. trimmed its Ashland stake by 4.1% in Q4, selling 113,936 shares and retaining 2,686,135 shares (about 5.87% ownership) valued at roughly $157.6 million.
• Analysts are mixed—six Buy, four Hold and one Sell—leaving an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $66.11.
• Ashland posted quarterly EPS of $0.26 (beating estimates) while revenue missed expectations, and it declared a quarterly dividend of $0.415 (annualized yield ~2.9%).

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,686,135 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 113,936 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 5.87% of Ashland worth $157,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 3,673.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 566 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ashland by 59.0% in 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 purchased a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ASH. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ashland from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Argus lowered their price target on Ashland from $70.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Ashland from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $63.00 price target on Ashland in a report on Monday, February 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.11.

Ashland Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of ASH opened at $56.39 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.45. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.29 and a 1 year high of $65.64. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $57.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $386.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $401.42 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.58% and a negative net margin of 38.26%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.415 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is presently -10.99%.

Ashland Company 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.

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