Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) VP Eric N. Boni Sells 451 Shares

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,188.74. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE ASH traded up $0.79 on Monday, reaching $76.28. 702,258 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 420,563. The firm has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.86. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.04 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $82.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $522.00 million during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,134,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $713,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 2.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 671,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,492,000 after buying an additional 14,938 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the second quarter worth about $2,442,000. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 2.4% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 581,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $54,918,000 after acquiring an additional 13,577 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.29.

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.