Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Sold by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP reduced its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 69.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,779 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 47,400 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ASH. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Ashland in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 994 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at about $72,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 directly owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at $2,010,326.56. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.00.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE:ASH opened at $57.24 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.29. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.86 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The stock has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of -86.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company posted $0.45 EPS. Analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently -245.45%.

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.