Eric N. Boni Sells 451 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Stock

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,188.74. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE ASH opened at $75.89 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.40. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.89 and a 1 year high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.66 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. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Ashland in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,134,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland in the second quarter valued at approximately $713,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Ashland by 2.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 671,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,492,000 after buying an additional 14,938 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,442,000. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 2.4% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 581,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,918,000 after buying an additional 13,577 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.29.

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.