Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $224.12 Million Stock Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,658,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,182 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.31% of Ashland worth $224,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Ashland in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 143.9% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Ashland by 338.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Ashland by 43.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 163.7% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $112.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Ashland in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.44.

Ashland Price Performance

Ashland stock opened at $98.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.82 and a 12 month high of $99.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $96.11 and its 200-day moving average is $88.08.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 9.09%. The firm had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $574.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. This is a positive change from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.85%.

Ashland 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.