Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $735,000 Stock Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 276.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,392 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 9,100 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Ashland were worth $735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,590 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Ashland by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 5,225 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Ashland by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in Ashland by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,042 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ashland by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,429 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Ashland from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Mizuho set a $60.00 price objective on Ashland in a research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $68.60.

Ashland Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE ASH traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $52.40. 521,160 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 556,811. The business has a 50 day moving average of $50.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.83, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $98.44.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.415 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -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.