Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $6.25 Million Stock Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL decreased its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned 0.13% of Ashland worth $6,246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Ashland by 696.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 52,372 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,415,000 after purchasing an additional 45,796 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ashland by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,521 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $887,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ashland during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Ashland during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 689,517 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $58,133,000 after purchasing an additional 21,667 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE ASH traded up $1.67 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $96.19. 193,529 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 288,615. The company’s 50-day moving average is $96.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.11. Ashland Inc. has a one year low of $70.82 and a one year high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 3.15. The company has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.90.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.13. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $574.64 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 1st were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This is an increase from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ashland from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.88.

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.