First Trust Advisors LP Has $13.54 Million Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 50.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 189,525 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 63,503 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.40% of Ashland worth $13,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Ashland in the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Ashland by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 959 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Ashland by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 994 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ashland news, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut Ashland from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Ashland from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.40.

Ashland Trading Down 9.5 %

Shares of ASH stock traded down $5.16 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $49.23. 1,037,026 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 519,349. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.52 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. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of -74.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $55.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.89.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.79 million. Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. The business's revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

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.