Nordea Investment Management AB Raises Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 167.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,813 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 67,556 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.21% of Ashland worth $9,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ashland by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 3,668 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 17.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,917 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 4.2% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,523 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 3.2% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 8,142 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 25.0% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 34,207 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,366,000 after purchasing an additional 6,835 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on ASH shares. TheStreet raised Ashland from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ashland from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Ashland in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ashland currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $99.67.

Ashland Price Performance

Ashland stock traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $95.26. 223,358 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 502,195. The company has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 3.30. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.82 and a 52-week high of $105.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $90.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.73.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $473.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $478.69 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.95% and a net margin of 7.62%. The firm's revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Ashland's payout ratio is presently 50.49%.

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.