VELA Investment Management LLC Sells 1,634 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

VELA Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,634 shares during the period. Ashland accounts for 1.3% of VELA Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. VELA Investment Management LLC owned 0.10% of Ashland worth $4,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 56.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 216,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,042,000 after purchasing an additional 78,013 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 1st quarter valued at $624,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 427.1% during the 1st quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 12,096 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 89,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,724,000 after purchasing an additional 25,600 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Ashland by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 657,010 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,973,000 after acquiring an additional 26,245 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASH has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ashland currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.50.

Ashland Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of ASH stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $84.82. 307,632 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 414,458. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.82 and a 12-month high of $102.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $86.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Ashland had a net margin of 7.01% and a return on equity of 5.98%. The firm had revenue of $544.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st were issued 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 1.91%. Ashland’s payout ratio is 54.92%.

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.