Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 43,682 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,763,240 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 43,682 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 5.86% of Ashland worth $163,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,928,924 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $352,221,000 after acquiring an additional 66,530 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP increased its position in shares of Ashland by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 2,860,471 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $204,409,000 after acquiring an additional 212,916 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Ashland by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,818,695 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $201,423,000 after acquiring an additional 44,018 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 33.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,291,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $132,383,000 after acquiring an additional 569,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shapiro Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 172.5% during the fourth quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 670,785 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,934,000 after acquiring an additional 424,595 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE:ASH traded down $1.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $51.34. The stock had a trading volume of 58,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 560,570. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.21 and a 12-month high of $98.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 2.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.51.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.11). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.14% and a negative net margin of 5.74%. The company had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.79 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. Ashland's revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st were issued a $0.415 dividend. This is a positive change from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -69.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on ASH. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Ashland from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target on Ashland from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho set a $60.00 target price on Ashland in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.40.

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.