UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Increases Stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 138,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 18,100 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.29% of Ashland worth $9,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in Ashland by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 5,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in Ashland by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,042 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Ashland by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $49.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.21 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $51.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.65. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -75.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.11). Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. The firm had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $514.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. Ashland’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be issued a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. This is a positive change from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ashland’s payout ratio is presently -69.17%.

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.