New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stock Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 18.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 9,925 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.08% of Ashland worth $3,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ASH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 139.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,414,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $115,558,000 after purchasing an additional 824,600 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Ashland by 33.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,260,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $184,624,000 after buying an additional 560,916 shares during the period. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Ashland during the third quarter valued at $22,880,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 14.6% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,953,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $159,522,000 after acquiring an additional 248,591 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 157.6% in the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 198,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,699,000 after acquiring an additional 121,161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $126.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ashland in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Ashland from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.11.

Ashland Price Performance

ASH opened at $95.85 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.82 and a 12-month high of $99.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.99.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.13. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $574.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.