31,402 Shares in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Bought by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 31,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,731,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ashland in the 1st quarter valued at $212,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,397,000 after buying an additional 2,016 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the first quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP boosted its position in Ashland by 242.5% in the first quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 13,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Ashland by 20.8% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 546,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,246,000 after buying an additional 94,013 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Price Performance

ASH stock opened at $79.05 on Monday. Ashland Inc. has a one year low of $75.04 and a one year high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.18.

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

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.29.

Insider Transactions at Ashland

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.