Intech Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,959 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Ashland by 9.4% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,314,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $218,686,000 after purchasing an additional 198,913 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 616.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,875,000 after buying an additional 162,776 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter worth $14,346,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Ashland by 407.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 139,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,202,000 after acquiring an additional 112,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in Ashland by 33.0% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 429,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,727,000 after acquiring an additional 106,417 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE:ASH opened at $77.97 on Wednesday. Ashland Inc. has a one year low of $75.04 and a one year high of $102.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

Insider Transactions at Ashland

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ASH shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.29.

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.