Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Position Raised by Fulton Bank N.A.

Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $327,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 122.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 143.9% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Ashland by 338.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Ashland by 163.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $96.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $97.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.14. The company has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.82 and a twelve month high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $574.64 million. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This is a positive change from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Ashland in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.44.

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.