Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 93,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,013 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Ashland were worth $6,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,928,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $352,221,000 after acquiring an additional 66,530 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Ashland by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $73,074,000 after purchasing an additional 142,121 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ashland by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 702,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $50,205,000 after purchasing an additional 26,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 47.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 577,633 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,247,000 after purchasing an additional 184,954 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ASH shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three investment 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,010,326.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $48.75 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.18. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -73.87, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $46.21 and a one year high of $102.50.

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

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently -245.45%.

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.