iSAM Funds UK Ltd Makes New Investment in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Ashland by 6,127.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,574,000 after acquiring an additional 866,320 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 12.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 284,215 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ashland by 616.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,875,000 after buying an additional 162,776 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,346,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 407.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 139,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,202,000 after buying an additional 112,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Down 1.3 %

Ashland stock opened at $75.49 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 fifty-two week low of $75.04 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.80. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ASH. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In other news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.