Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Has $1.72 Million Stock Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lowered its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,047 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,371 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board owned about 0.05% of Ashland worth $1,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ashland during the fourth quarter valued at $28,943,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,806,922 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $200,583,000 after purchasing an additional 208,320 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 47.1% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 577,633 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,247,000 after buying an additional 184,954 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 2,060.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 179,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,802,000 after buying an additional 170,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Ashland by 703.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 184,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,206,000 after buying an additional 161,812 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ashland Stock Down 0.7 %

Ashland stock opened at $50.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $58.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.31. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.21 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -245.45%.

Insider Activity at Ashland

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo bought 31,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at $2,010,326.56. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $69.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.20.

Ashland 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.