Natixis Advisors L.P. Has $29.49 Million Stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 36.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 349,792 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 94,118 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $29,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ASH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Ashland by 139.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,414,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $115,558,000 after purchasing an additional 824,600 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,260,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $184,624,000 after buying an additional 560,916 shares during the period. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at about $22,880,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Ashland by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,953,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,522,000 after buying an additional 248,591 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 157.6% in 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 in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Stock Up 0.1 %

ASH stock opened at $95.85 on Friday. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.82 and a 1-year high of $99.55. The stock has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.13. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $574.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASH has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $126.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Ashland in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.11.

About Ashland

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.