JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 67,980 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 66.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 169,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,980 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $14,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,134,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 671,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,492,000 after buying an additional 14,938 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 138.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 120,741 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,501,000 after purchasing an additional 70,145 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,442,000. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its stake 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ASH. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.00.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $68.74 on Friday. 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 $68.54 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $75.92 and a 200-day moving average of $84.45.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced 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). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The company had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,188.74. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.02% 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.