Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Grows Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,107 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Ashland by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 64,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,411,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Ashland by 143.9% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in Ashland by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 32,275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,636,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $98.02 on Wednesday. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.82 and a twelve month high of $99.55. The firm has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.13. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $574.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on ASH shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $112.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. TheStreet upgraded Ashland from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ashland from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.44.

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.