Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,575 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Ashland worth $6,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ASH. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Ashland by 193.1% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 610.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 133.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ashland in the second quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in Ashland by 8,211.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ASH shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.29.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $79.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $84.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.41. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.04 and a 52-week high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The company had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In other news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.