Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Boosts Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 284,215 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.05% of Ashland worth $226,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Ashland during the first quarter worth about $212,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 8.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,016 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the first quarter worth approximately $352,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ashland in the first quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP lifted its position in Ashland by 242.5% during the first quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 13,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.29.

Ashland Price Performance

ASH opened at $79.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.41. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.88. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.04 and a 1 year high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.