Boston Partners Grows Stock Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 47.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 577,633 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 184,954 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned about 1.22% of Ashland worth $41,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 156,050 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,151,000 after buying an additional 31,200 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 15,162 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $926,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 45,258 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,234,000 after buying an additional 13,856 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ashland news, CEO Guillermo Novo bought 31,294 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ashland Trading Down 0.7 %

ASH opened at $55.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.04. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.76 and a 1-year high of $102.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently -245.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ASH shares. Seaport Res Ptn cut Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.00.

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.