Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 208,320 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,806,922 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 208,320 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.06% of Ashland worth $200,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Ashland during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Ashland by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 994 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Ashland in the third quarter valued at about $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASH has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $80.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.40.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH stock opened at $53.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of -80.39, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Ashland Inc. has a one year low of $52.98 and a one year high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is -245.45%.

Insider Activity at Ashland

In other Ashland news, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at $2,010,326.56. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.