Paloma Partners Management Co Buys New Shares in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,953 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $518,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Ashland by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,397,000 after buying an additional 2,016 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 133.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 311.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland in the 2nd quarter valued at $713,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Stock Down 1.9 %

ASH stock opened at $78.68 on Wednesday. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.04 and a 1-year high of $102.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. Ashland’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. Analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ASH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.