Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Invests $734,000 in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,273 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $734,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 610.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Ashland

In other news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Guillermo Novo bought 31,294 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $60.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.52. The company has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -92.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $67.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.79. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.51 and a 52-week high of $102.50.

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

Ashland Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -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.