Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Boosts Stock Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 103,517 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $151,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Ashland by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 118,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,282,000 after purchasing an additional 18,449 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Ashland by 850.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,642 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in Ashland by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Leisure Capital Management increased its holdings in Ashland by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Leisure Capital Management now owns 10,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ashland by 62.9% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE:ASH traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $87.75. 215,658 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 419,551. 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 twelve month low of $70.82 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $86.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were given 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 yield of 1.85%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASH has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.50.

Ashland 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.