Truist Financial Corp Reduces Stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Truist Financial Corp trimmed its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 31,110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,122 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Ashland were worth $2,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Ashland by 105.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 61,058 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Ashland in the third quarter valued at about $3,134,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 138.6% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 70,145 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 66.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 169,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,752,000 after purchasing an additional 67,980 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised 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 purchasing an additional 161,812 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ASH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.57.

Ashland Stock Performance

Ashland stock opened at $62.69 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of -94.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.86. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.60 and a 1-year high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently -245.45%.

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.