Riverview Trust Co Sells 655 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Riverview Trust Co reduced its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 62.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 394 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 655 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co’s holdings in Ashland were worth $28,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Ashland by 610.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,010,326.56. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ASH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.50.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH stock opened at $60.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of -92.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $67.82 and a 200-day moving average of $77.75. Ashland Inc. has a one year low of $60.51 and a one year high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -245.45%.

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.