State Street Corp Sells 136,605 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

State Street Corp lessened its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,515,578 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 136,605 shares during the period. State Street Corp’s holdings in Ashland were worth $131,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 6,127.2% during the 3rd 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Ashland by 12.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 284,215 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 616.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,875,000 after purchasing an additional 162,776 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland in the second quarter worth $14,346,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 407.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 139,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,202,000 after purchasing an additional 112,169 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ASH. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.00.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $74.78 on Friday. 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 12 month low of $72.83 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.36 and a 200 day moving average of $87.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its 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). The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,188.74. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.