Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Takes $2.73 Million Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 31,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,731,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.06% of Ashland as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 2.2% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 6,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Ashland by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,295 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in Ashland by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 50,251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,748,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ashland

In other news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company’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 value of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH opened at $79.05 on Monday. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.04 and a 52-week high of $102.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $84.20 and its 200-day moving average is $90.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.