Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 3,702 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P decreased its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,234 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,702 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Ashland were worth $8,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ASH. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 6,127.2% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,574,000 after purchasing an additional 866,320 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Ashland by 12.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $226,000,000 after acquiring an additional 284,215 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 616.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,875,000 after acquiring an additional 162,776 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Ashland during the second quarter valued at $14,346,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 407.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 139,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,202,000 after acquiring an additional 112,169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Price Performance

ASH stock opened at $78.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.04 and a 1 year high of $102.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average is $83.87 and its 200-day moving average is $89.91.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Three 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.