Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Sets New 1-Year Low on Insider Selling

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $76.00 and last traded at $76.00, with a volume of 556 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $76.96.

Specifically, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.29.

Ashland Stock Down 0.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.66 and its 200-day moving average is $90.60.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The firm had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.36%.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 193.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 610.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 133.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.