Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Stake Lessened by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 141,499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 28,119 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $10,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in Ashland during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Ashland during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Ashland by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 994 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 302.4% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ashland from $69.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.20.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $50.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of -76.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.21 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.45.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -245.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo bought 31,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.