Bridgewater Associates LP Acquires 33,271 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 87.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 71,380 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,271 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Ashland were worth $6,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the first quarter worth about $212,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,397,000 after buying an additional 2,016 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 400.3% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,891 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after buying an additional 12,715 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 33.0% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 429,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,727,000 after acquiring an additional 106,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Ashland by 133.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ASH shares. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group dropped 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $78.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.04 and a 52-week high of $102.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $83.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. Ashland’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

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.