Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,479 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $463,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,943,000. Eminence Capital LP increased its holdings 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 worth $204,409,000 after buying an additional 212,916 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 8.0% during 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 buying an additional 208,320 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 47.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 577,633 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,247,000 after buying an additional 184,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 2,060.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 179,151 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,802,000 after buying an additional 170,859 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of Ashland stock traded up $1.44 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.74. The company had a trading volume of 514,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 540,597. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.13. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.21 and a 1-year high of $102.50.

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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.415 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ashland's payout ratio is currently -69.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ASH. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Ashland from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.60.

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.