Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Sold by Quadrature Capital Ltd

Quadrature Capital Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 21.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,606 shares during the quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in Ashland were worth $2,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 122.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 143.9% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 163.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Price Performance

NYSE ASH traded up $1.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $96.19. 193,529 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 288,615. The company has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.82 and a 52-week high of $102.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $96.76 and its 200-day moving average is $94.11.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.13. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 9.09%. The business had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $574.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This is a positive change from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently 42.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ASH shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Mizuho upped their price target on Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.88.

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.