Cwm LLC Lowers Stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Cwm LLC decreased its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 196 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Ashland during the 1st quarter worth approximately $624,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ashland by 56.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 216,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,042,000 after buying an additional 78,013 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 427.1% in the first quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 12,096 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ashland by 40.0% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 89,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,724,000 after buying an additional 25,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Ashland by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 657,010 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,973,000 after acquiring an additional 26,245 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.50.

Ashland Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $85.37 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.82 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $544.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.08 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.01% and a return on equity of 5.98%. Ashland’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Ashland’s payout ratio is 42.97%.

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.