Quest Partners LLC Acquires 739 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 8,211.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 739 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $71,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ashland by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,509 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Ashland by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,632 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new position in Ashland during the 4th quarter worth approximately $340,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Ashland by 143.7% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 809 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Ashland in the fourth quarter worth $899,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Price Performance

NYSE ASH opened at $87.19 on Wednesday. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.82 and a 12-month high of $102.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $89.79 and its 200-day moving average is $94.24. The company has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Ashland had a net margin of 7.01% and a return on equity of 5.98%. The firm had revenue of $544.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on 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 cut their price objective on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.50.

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.