10,880 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH Purchased by T3 Companies LLC

T3 Companies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 10,880 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $739,000. Ashland makes up 0.7% of T3 Companies LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ashland in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Bullseye Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Ashland by 989.6% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 38.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $85,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $75.00 price target on Ashland in a research report on Friday, October 16th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ashland from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ashland in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ashland from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.10.

Ashland Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $73.63 on Friday. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.12 and a 1 year high of $78.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.48 and a 200 day moving average of $65.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 3.05 and a quick ratio of 1.89.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is 147.37%.

About Ashland

Ashland Inc is a global specialty materials company that develops and supplies functional ingredients, additives and solutions for industrial and consumer markets. Its products are used to enhance the performance, stability, texture, appearance and processing of finished goods.

The company serves a range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, personal care, coatings, construction, food and beverages, adhesives and specialty chemicals. Its portfolio includes polymers, cellulose-based ingredients, rheology modifiers, film-forming agents, preservatives and other specialty additives used in applications such as drug delivery, skin and hair care, architectural coatings and building materials.

Ashland traces its roots to 1924, when it was established as Ashland Refining Company in Kentucky.