Leavell Investment Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 2.2% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 6,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in Ashland by 5.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,104 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Ashland by 5.4% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ashland by 9.5% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 12.1% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on ASH shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.57.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $64.98 on Friday. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.60 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.52. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -98.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently -245.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In related news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

About Ashland

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.