Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Makes New $811,000 Investment in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,307 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $811,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ASH. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ashland by 284.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $172,318,000 after buying an additional 2,555,585 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Ashland by 13,240.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,736,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $101,861,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723,159 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ashland by 775.6% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,900,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,994 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at $105,471,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 1,080,682.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,437,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,335,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437,307 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ashland Price Performance

Ashland stock opened at $73.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 3.05. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.29 and a 52 week high of $78.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.43 and a 200-day moving average of $61.05.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently 147.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on ASH shares. Mizuho raised their price target on Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ashland from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold 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 $73.90.

Ashland Company Profile

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.