Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 106,095 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 40.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 155,692 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 106,095 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $13,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Ashland by 193.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Ashland by 610.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 8,211.1% in 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 during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Price Performance

NYSE:ASH opened at $71.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.86. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.56 and a 1-year high of $102.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.29. 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 (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is 48.36%.

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.