Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Has $14.35 Million Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 200,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,988 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned 0.43% of Ashland worth $14,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Ashland by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $226,000,000 after buying an additional 284,215 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ashland by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $73,074,000 after buying an additional 142,121 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ashland by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,000,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Ashland by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 517,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,964,000 after buying an additional 7,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in Ashland by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 297,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,045,000 after buying an additional 7,478 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.57.

Insider Transactions at Ashland

In other Ashland news, CEO Guillermo Novo bought 31,294 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,010,326.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $60.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $60.51 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.82 and a 200-day moving average of $77.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -92.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently -245.45%.

Ashland 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.