Fulton Bank N.A. Boosts Stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $76,574,000 after purchasing an additional 866,320 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $226,000,000 after purchasing an additional 284,215 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 616.6% in 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. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 407.2% in 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 buying an additional 112,169 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 6.3% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 103,517 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ashland news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $68.74 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $75.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.45. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.54 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.87.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly 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). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The company had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Ashland’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid 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 2.36%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ASH. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.00.

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.