Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 7,129 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 191,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,129 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned 0.42% of Ashland worth $9,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Ashland by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Ashland by 63.9% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ashland by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Ashland by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ASH. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ashland from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Ashland in a research note on Monday, September 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.43.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH opened at $48.94 on Monday. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.21 and a 12-month high of $88.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of -2.61, a P/E/G ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.29.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $509.00 million during the quarter. Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. Ashland has set its FY 2022 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st were issued a $0.415 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is presently -8.86%.

Ashland Profile

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.