Corebridge Financial Inc. Cuts Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Corebridge Financial Inc. lowered its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned about 0.12% of Ashland worth $3,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ASH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ashland by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,928,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $352,221,000 after acquiring an additional 66,530 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Ashland by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $73,074,000 after buying an additional 142,121 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ashland by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,000,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ashland by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 702,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,205,000 after buying an additional 26,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 47.1% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 577,633 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,247,000 after acquiring an additional 184,954 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.40.

Insider Activity at Ashland

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo bought 31,294 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ashland Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $58.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -89.38, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.86 and a 1 year high of $102.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $62.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.55.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently -245.45%.

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.