Merit Financial Group LLC Buys New Stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,692 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 66,530 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP increased its position in Ashland by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 2,860,471 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $204,409,000 after buying an additional 212,916 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 44,018 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Ashland by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,806,922 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $200,583,000 after acquiring an additional 208,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 702,561 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $50,205,000 after acquiring an additional 26,267 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on ASH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Ashland from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $60.00 target price on Ashland in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered 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 assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.60.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH stock traded down $1.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $51.62. 442,779 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 548,412. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of -78.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.52. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.21 and a 12 month high of $99.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $50.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.18.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. The company had revenue of $479.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter 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 year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.415 per share. This is a boost from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Ashland's payout ratio is -69.17%.

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.