Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Purchases Shares of 437 Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 437 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings 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 worth $262,037,000 after acquiring an additional 86,977 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 6.3% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 103,517 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 6,127.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,574,000 after buying an additional 866,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. This trade 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 insiders.

Ashland Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $71.85 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.56 and a 12-month high of $102.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $80.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (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 net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.36%.

Ashland Company 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.