Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Holdings Raised by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 713.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 20,616 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 1.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP increased its position in Ashland by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 2,860,471 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $204,409,000 after purchasing an additional 212,916 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,818,695 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $201,423,000 after purchasing an additional 44,018 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,806,922 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $200,583,000 after buying an additional 208,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $73,074,000 after buying an additional 142,121 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ASH shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Ashland from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $60.00 target price on Ashland in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.60.

Ashland Trading Down 3.6%

NYSE:ASH opened at $49.51 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $52.55 and its 200-day moving average is $64.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.21 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -75.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.79 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.415 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently -69.17%.

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.