Northern Trust Corp Grows Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 27.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 497,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 107,653 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Ashland were worth $35,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ashland during the 4th quarter worth about $726,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 5,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland in the 4th quarter valued at about $629,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Ashland from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.60.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of ASH opened at $50.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.52. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.21 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.06. The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -75.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $479.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.79 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. The firm’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be paid a $0.415 dividend. This is a boost from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently -69.17%.

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.