New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 61,471 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,482 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Ashland were worth $5,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in Ashland by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,295 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Ashland by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ashland by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 50,251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,748,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its position in Ashland by 16.5% in the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Ashland by 193.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ASH shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.50.

Ashland Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $84.98 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $86.42 and its 200 day moving average is $91.85. The stock has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.88. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.55 and a 52-week high of $102.50.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.98% and a net margin of 7.01%. The firm had revenue of $544.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.92%.

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.