Nordea Investment Management AB Has $10.06 Million Stock Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,741 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,027 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 0.30% of Ashland worth $10,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 193.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Ashland during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Ashland by 610.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of ASH stock opened at $70.39 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $76.20 and a 200-day moving average of $84.55. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44.

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

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is 48.36%.

Ashland 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.