Chesapeake Capital Corp IL Decreases Stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Chesapeake Capital Corp IL trimmed its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 51.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,742 shares during the quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL’s holdings in Ashland were worth $513,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 274.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 495,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,797,000 after purchasing an additional 363,328 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Ashland by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,656,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $139,673,000 after acquiring an additional 252,104 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,424,801 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $204,435,000 after acquiring an additional 164,468 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Ashland during the second quarter worth $14,346,000. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Ashland by 33.0% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 429,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,727,000 after purchasing an additional 106,417 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.50.

Ashland Stock Up 0.4 %

ASH stock opened at $85.36 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $90.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.53. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.89. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.82 and a 52 week high of $102.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $544.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.08 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.98% and a net margin of 7.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.97%.

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.