QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 439 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 439 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ASH. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 105.1% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 119,135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after purchasing an additional 61,058 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Ashland during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,134,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 138.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 120,741 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,501,000 after buying an additional 70,145 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Ashland by 66.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 169,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,752,000 after acquiring an additional 67,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 703.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 184,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,206,000 after acquiring an additional 161,812 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Ashland Trading Down 3.9 %

NYSE ASH opened at $58.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of -88.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $67.57 and its 200 day moving average is $77.53. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.34 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 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 firm posted $0.45 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is -245.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,188.74. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at $2,010,326.56. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

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.