Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Cuts Stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,721,417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 16,321 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 3.65% of Ashland worth $120,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Ashland by 6,127.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,574,000 after purchasing an additional 866,320 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $226,000,000 after buying an additional 284,215 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 2,060.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 179,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,802,000 after buying an additional 170,859 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 703.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 184,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,206,000 after acquiring an additional 161,812 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Ashland by 75.7% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 205,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,614,000 after acquiring an additional 88,425 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In related news, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,188.74. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.57.

Ashland Price Performance

NYSE:ASH opened at $64.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.84. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.60 and a 1-year high of $102.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -97.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently -245.45%.

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.