Royal Bank of Canada Has $1.95 Million Position in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 49.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,575 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.08% of Ashland worth $1,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ashland by 59.0% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 398.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,460 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 535.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,348 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 76.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ASH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ashland in a research report on Monday, July 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ashland from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research raised Ashland from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners upgraded Ashland from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.90.

Ashland Price Performance

ASH opened at $73.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 3.05 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $68.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.05. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.29 and a 1 year high of $78.25.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 147.37%.

Ashland Company Profile

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.