Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 1.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 192,897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,725 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $18,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ashland by 122.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 143.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 809 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 8,211.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.50.

Ashland Price Performance

Ashland stock opened at $87.19 on Wednesday. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.82 and a 52 week high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $544.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.08 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.01% and a return on equity of 5.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.97%.

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.