Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Sold by Corebridge Financial Inc.

Corebridge Financial Inc. cut its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 55,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $3,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Ashland by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Ashland by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,964 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Ashland by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Ashland during the third quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ashland

In related news, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ashland from $80.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.40.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH opened at $58.99 on Monday. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.86 and a 1 year high of $102.50. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.55. The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -89.38, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.52.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently -245.45%.

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.