Guillermo Novo Acquires 31,294 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Stock

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) CEO Guillermo Novo bought 31,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ashland Stock Up 6.0 %

ASH opened at $64.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of -97.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.60 and a 52 week high of $102.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.07.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. Ashland’s payout ratio is -245.45%.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Ashland by 12.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $226,000,000 after buying an additional 284,215 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 6.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $151,131,000 after buying an additional 103,517 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $73,074,000 after buying an additional 142,121 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,000,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Ashland by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 517,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,964,000 after buying an additional 7,709 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ASH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.57.

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.