Janus Henderson Group PLC Buys 94,013 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 20.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 546,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,013 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $53,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bayesian Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Ashland by 242.5% in the first quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 13,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ashland in the first quarter worth approximately $228,000. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Ashland in the first quarter worth approximately $352,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Ashland by 8.9% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Ashland by 4.2% in the first 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. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Ashland stock traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $96.26. 228,437 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 399,415. 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 cap of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $96.67 and a 200-day moving average of $94.30. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.82 and a 12 month high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $574.64 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 9.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on ASH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ashland from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.88.

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.