Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 105.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 119,135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61,058 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned 0.25% of Ashland worth $8,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farmers Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,105,000. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of Ashland by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Ashland by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 140,741 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,064,000 after purchasing an additional 3,027 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Ashland by 363.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,739 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 1,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ASH. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ashland Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE ASH traded down $1.79 on Friday, hitting $68.56. 80,120 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 422,119. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.87. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.55 and a 52-week high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The firm’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.36%.

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.