Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Sold by Tidal Investments LLC

Tidal Investments LLC trimmed its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 186 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Ashland by 3.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,773,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $262,037,000 after purchasing an additional 86,977 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Ashland by 12.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $226,000,000 after acquiring an additional 284,215 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Ashland by 6.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $151,131,000 after acquiring an additional 103,517 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Ashland by 6,127.2% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,574,000 after acquiring an additional 866,320 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ashland by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ASH shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business’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 owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH opened at $73.08 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $80.93 and its 200-day moving average is $87.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.83 and a twelve month high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

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.