Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Ashland Inc. by 2.7%, selling 134,216 shares and now owns 4,794,708 shares, representing a value of approximately $284 million.
• Ashland reported earnings of $1.04 per share for the latest quarter, falling short of estimates, with total revenue of $463 million, a decrease of 14.9% compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.415 per share, which will be paid to shareholders of record, demonstrating a yield of 3.1%.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,794,708 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 134,216 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.49% of Ashland worth $284,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 2,736.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 212.4% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 63.9% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 285.7% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 1,745.8% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ASH. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.60.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH traded down $0.1010 on Thursday, hitting $53.9690. The company's stock had a trading volume of 122,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 653,220. The stock's 50-day moving average is $51.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.03. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.21 and a 12 month high of $90.61. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.68.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $463.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.34 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 6.82% and a negative net margin of 46.01%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. Ashland has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.415 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is presently -8.86%.

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.