SG Americas Securities LLC Has $1.23 Million Stock Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 88.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,819 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 158,332 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Ashland were worth $1,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,928,924 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $352,221,000 after acquiring an additional 66,530 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP boosted its holdings in Ashland by 8.0% in the 4th 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 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 worth $201,423,000 after purchasing an additional 44,018 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew 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. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ashland by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 702,561 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $50,205,000 after acquiring an additional 26,267 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Ashland Stock Performance

Ashland stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.72. 315,538 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 687,105. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 2.32. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.21 and a 12-month high of $98.99. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $50.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.98. The stock has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.52.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $479.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.79 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.14% and a negative net margin of 5.74%. The firm's revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

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