State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 300 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,039 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Ashland by 274.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 495,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,797,000 after acquiring an additional 363,328 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,656,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $139,673,000 after purchasing an additional 252,104 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Ashland by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,424,801 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $204,435,000 after purchasing an additional 164,468 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Ashland by 33.0% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 429,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,727,000 after buying an additional 106,417 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in Ashland by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 349,792 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,491,000 after buying an additional 94,118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Trading Up 0.9 %

ASH stock opened at $89.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $91.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.72. Ashland Inc. has a one year low of $70.82 and a one year high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $544.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. Ashland’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is 42.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.50.

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.