Vest Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 7,528 Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,528 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $446,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 517,266 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,964,000 after buying an additional 7,709 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ashland by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 148,433 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,607,000 after acquiring an additional 22,600 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Ashland by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 171,636 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,265,000 after acquiring an additional 39,392 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ashland by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 702,561 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $50,205,000 after acquiring an additional 26,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter worth $320,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut Ashland from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho set a $60.00 target price on Ashland in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Ashland from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $68.60.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE:ASH traded down $1.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $51.62. 442,779 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 548,089. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -78.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.21 and a 12 month high of $102.50.

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 the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.415 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is currently -69.17%.

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.