California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 3,417 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,417 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.17% of Ashland worth $7,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 139.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,414,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $115,558,000 after acquiring an additional 824,600 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Ashland by 33.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,260,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $184,624,000 after acquiring an additional 560,916 shares during the period. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the third quarter worth approximately $22,880,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 14.6% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,953,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,522,000 after acquiring an additional 248,591 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 157.6% during the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 198,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,699,000 after acquiring an additional 121,161 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $126.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 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, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.11.

Ashland Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE ASH opened at $95.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.59 and a 200 day moving average of $86.72. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.82 and a 1 year high of $99.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $574.64 million. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

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.