Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Lowers Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 23.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 95,568 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 29,614 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $8,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Ashland by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,773,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $262,037,000 after purchasing an additional 86,977 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 12.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $226,000,000 after buying an additional 284,215 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Ashland by 6.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $151,131,000 after purchasing an additional 103,517 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Ashland by 6,127.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,574,000 after buying an additional 866,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Ashland by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 671,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,492,000 after buying an additional 14,938 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ASH. StockNews.com upgraded Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their target price on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.29.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $76.45 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.04 and a 12 month high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

Insider Transactions at Ashland

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Company 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.