Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 198,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,913 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $17,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Ashland by 193.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Ashland by 610.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ashland by 8,211.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ashland presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.57.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH opened at $76.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.89. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.90 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

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.