UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 33,492 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management reduced its Ashland stake by 26.5% in the second quarter, selling 33,492 shares and retaining 92,784 shares valued at approximately $6.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.95% of Ashland.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with Ashland receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $73.90. Recent targets range from $70 to $83, including an $83 buy-rated target from UBS Group.
• Ashland declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to $1.68 annually and a 2.3% yield. The company’s current payout ratio is elevated at 147.37%.

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC cut its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,784 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 33,492 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.20% of Ashland worth $6,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in shares of Ashland by 1.8% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 11,039 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Ashland by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ashland by 59.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Ashland by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,457 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Ashland by 38.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ASH. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ashland from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ashland in a research note on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.90.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE ASH opened at $72.57 on Wednesday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $70.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.29 and a 1 year high of $78.25.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is currently 147.37%.

Ashland Profile

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.