Truist Financial Corp Sells 9,696 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp reduced its stake in Ashland Inc. by 25.3%, selling 9,696 shares to hold 28,666 shares valued at approximately $1.44 million.
• Ashland reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.56 with revenue of $509 million, and it has a negative net margin of 46.01%.
• The company has recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.415 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.5%.

Truist Financial Corp decreased its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 25.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,666 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 9,696 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.06% of Ashland worth $1,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Abound Wealth Management acquired a new position in Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 2,736.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Ashland by 212.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Ashland by 63.9% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 93.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,155 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE ASH opened at $47.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.54, a PEG ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $52.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.64. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.21 and a twelve month high of $88.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $509.00 million for the quarter. Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. Ashland has set its FY 2022 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.415 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is currently -8.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ASH shares. Argus cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Ashland in a research report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ashland has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.57.

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.

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