Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys 3,760 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 62,666.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,766 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,760 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ASH. CWM LLC grew its position in Ashland by 311.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 1,704 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Ashland by 22.2% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,004,000 after buying an additional 1,933 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Ashland during the second quarter worth about $713,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ashland during the second quarter worth about $251,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Ashland during the second quarter worth about $3,423,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ashland

In other Ashland news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,188.74. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.29.

Ashland Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of ASH stock opened at $76.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.86. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.04 and a 1-year high of $102.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.19 and a 200 day moving average of $88.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The company’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.36%.

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.