Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 39,691 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,611,501 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 39,691 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.09% of Ashland worth $220,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $172,318,000 after buying an additional 2,555,585 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 3.0% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,847,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $143,164,000 after acquiring an additional 84,086 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Ashland by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,371,755 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $68,972,000 after purchasing an additional 143,230 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Ashland by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 575,146 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,918,000 after acquiring an additional 140,957 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Ashland by 3.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 504,048 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,344,000 after buying an additional 15,134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

More Ashland News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ashland this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/quarterly take: A Seeking Alpha piece argues Ashland remains a buy despite recent strength, citing valuation and upside vs. peers — this supports investor confidence and buying interest. Ashland: Still A Buy Despite Recent Strength
• Positive Sentiment: Technical trigger: A market note flagged Ashland shares crossing above the 200-day moving average — a bullish technical event that can attract momentum traders, though the write-up also raises the question of profit‑taking. Ashland Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?
• Neutral Sentiment: Local culture: Paramount Theater in Ashland celebrated a grand reopening — positive for local community vibrancy but not material to Ashland Inc.’s corporate performance. ‘Let the show begin’: Paramount Theater Ashland celebrates grand reopening
• Neutral Sentiment: Community/education: Ashland High School held a vigil after a fatal car crash — a local development with community impact but unrelated to the company’s operations. Ashland High School holds vigil for students killed in car crash
• Neutral Sentiment: College sports note: Keystone linebacker Shane Ohl committed to Ashland (university) — local/regional interest but not material to ASH corporate fundamentals. Keystone football: All-Ohio linebacker Shane Ohl commits to Ashland
• Neutral Sentiment: High school sports: Boyd’s Spurlock beat Ashland for a district basketball crown — local sports result with no company impact. Prep boys basketball: Boyd’s Spurlock ices Ashland for 64th District crown
• Neutral Sentiment: Arts/education: Ashland University is hosting a free winter choral concert — positive for community engagement but immaterial to ASH stock. Ashland University hosts free winter choral concert March 1
• Neutral Sentiment: Policy discussion: A former Peace Corps volunteer spoke on USAID shutdown impacts in Ashland — local policy discussion without direct corporate relevance. Former Peace Corps volunteer speaks on USAID shutdown in Ashland
• Neutral Sentiment: Local business/community: A gardening club story on downtown vitality — positive for local economy but not for ASH corporate earnings. Gardening club hears how Ashland’s downtown thrives

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ashland in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Ashland from $77.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Evercore set a $62.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Ashland from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.67.

Ashland Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of ASH opened at $62.33 on Monday. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.21 and a 12-month high of $65.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $61.78 and its 200 day moving average is $55.71. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of -4.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.42.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.58% and a negative net margin of 38.26%.The business had revenue of $386.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $401.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 1st will be paid a $0.415 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently -10.99%.

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.