Insider Selling: Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) SVP Sells 868 Shares of Stock

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH traded up $0.08 on Monday, hitting $77.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 403,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 422,412. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $84.99 and a 200-day moving average of $90.87. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.33 and a 12-month high of $102.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.36%.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ashland in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 193.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Ashland by 610.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Ashland by 133.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ashland by 8,211.1% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ASH shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a 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. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.57.

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.