Ieq Capital LLC Makes New $3.65 Million Investment in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 55,328 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,646,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Ashland during the second quarter worth about $376,376,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 284.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $172,318,000 after acquiring an additional 2,555,585 shares during the last quarter. Standard Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Standard Investments LLC now owns 2,625,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $154,009,000 after acquiring an additional 385,000 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,496,021 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $138,793,000 after acquiring an additional 267,741 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 775.6% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,900,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $111,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,994 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ashland Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of ASH stock opened at $73.70 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.29 and a fifty-two week high of $78.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $69.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.40.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ASH. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ashland from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research note on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Ashland from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ashland from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.90.

Ashland 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.