Hilton Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Hilton Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,501 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 748 shares during the quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 1st quarter worth approximately $212,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Ashland during the first quarter valued at $288,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 657,010 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,973,000 after buying an additional 26,245 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,397,000 after buying an additional 2,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 1st quarter valued at about $352,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE ASH opened at $76.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.04 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $84.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.36%.

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.