Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Bought by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 106.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,770 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in Ashland in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Ashland in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Ashland by 610.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the third quarter valued at $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ASH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.50.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE ASH opened at $60.72 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $67.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.75. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.51 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of -92.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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 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 in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -245.45%.

Insider Transactions at Ashland

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