UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 33,492 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lessened its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 26.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 92,784 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 33,492 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $6,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth $4,961,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland in the second quarter valued at about $94,000. Glenview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland in the second quarter valued at about $211,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Ashland during the second quarter worth about $554,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in shares of Ashland during the second quarter worth about $1,275,000. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ASH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ashland from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ashland from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.90.

Ashland Price Performance

Ashland stock opened at $72.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.66, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.39. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.29 and a 52-week high of $78.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 3.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.27.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be 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 is Tuesday, September 1st. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 147.37%.

About Ashland

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.