Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Sold by Hilltop National Bank

Hilltop National Bank lowered its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,692 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 553 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Ashland were worth $335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ashland by 6,127.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,574,000 after purchasing an additional 866,320 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $226,000,000 after buying an additional 284,215 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 616.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,875,000 after buying an additional 162,776 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 407.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 139,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,202,000 after buying an additional 112,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $151,131,000 after purchasing an additional 103,517 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ashland Stock Down 2.3 %

Ashland stock opened at $68.74 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.87. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.54 and a 52 week high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on ASH shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

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.