Versant Capital Management Inc Takes $33,000 Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Ashland by 6,127.2% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,574,000 after acquiring an additional 866,320 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Ashland by 12.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $226,000,000 after purchasing an additional 284,215 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 616.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,875,000 after purchasing an additional 162,776 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Ashland by 407.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 139,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,202,000 after purchasing an additional 112,169 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Ashland by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $151,131,000 after purchasing an additional 103,517 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of ASH stock opened at $71.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.87. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.25 and a 52-week high of $102.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.83.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. Ashland’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ASH. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.00.

Insider Activity at Ashland

In other Ashland news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.