Boston Partners Sells 118,651 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

Boston Partners trimmed its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 83.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,380 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 118,651 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Ashland were worth $1,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 226.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 899,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,009,000 after acquiring an additional 623,601 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 48.7% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,228,525 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,839,000 after purchasing an additional 402,286 shares in the last quarter. Cooperman Leon G raised its holdings in Ashland by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Cooperman Leon G now owns 1,694,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $100,446,000 after purchasing an additional 240,686 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Ashland by 242.6% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 196,733 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,892,000 after purchasing an additional 139,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Ashland during the first quarter valued at $7,747,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Ashland in a research report on Monday, September 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ashland from $52.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Ashland from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Ashland from $62.00 to $53.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.38.

Ashland Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of ASH stock opened at $51.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.49. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.21 and a 12-month high of $80.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.21.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 6.82% and a negative net margin of 46.01%.The company had revenue of $509.00 million during the quarter. Ashland has set its FY 2022 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.