Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $1.40 Million Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky decreased its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,091 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 440 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Ashland by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,773,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $262,037,000 after purchasing an additional 86,977 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position 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 valued at $226,000,000 after acquiring an additional 284,215 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 6.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 103,517 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 6,127.2% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 worth $72,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of ASH opened at $73.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Ashland Inc. has a one year low of $72.83 and a one year high of $102.50. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business 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%. Ashland’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

Insider Activity at Ashland

In other Ashland news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.00.

Ashland Profile

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.