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May 31, 2023

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its holdings in

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Get Rating) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 143,723 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,422 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado owned approximately 0.26% of Ashland worth $15,455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Ashland by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,076 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,299,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in Ashland by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 96,318 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,383 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in Ashland by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 82,874 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $8,911,000 after purchasing an additional 17,921 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Ashland by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,627 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,786,000 after purchasing an additional 8,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Ashland by 204.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 305,575 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $32,858,000 after purchasing an additional 205,300 shares during the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ashland from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Ashland from $139.00 to $129.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Ashland from $145.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. StockNews.com started coverage on Ashland in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Ashland from $135.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.25.

NYSE ASH opened at $88.36 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60 and a beta of 0.99. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $84.73 and a twelve month high of $114.36. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.24 and a 200 day moving average of $102.16.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $603.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $627.61 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 9.32%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. This is a boost from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Ashland Inc provides additives and specialty ingredients worldwide. 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.

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