<div id="readability-page-1"><p>First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 112,150 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,550 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 0.22% of Ashland worth $10,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.</p><ul><li>3 chemical stocks to play the industry breakout</li></ul><p>Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 4,725 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,295 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 122.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,358 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 21,035 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,773,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. </p><h2>Ashland Stock Performance</h2><p>Shares of ASH stock opened at $88.00 on Friday. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.82 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The stock's 50-day moving average is $89.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.88. </p><p>Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $544.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.08 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.98% and a net margin of 7.01%. The firm's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Ashland Dividend Announcement</h2><p>The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.97%. </p><h2>Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth</h2><p>Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a &#34;buy&#34; rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a &#34;market perform&#34; rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo &amp; Company cut their price target on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an &#34;overweight&#34; rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a &#34;buy&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. upgraded Ashland from an &#34;underweight&#34; rating to a &#34;neutral&#34; rating and reduced their target price for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland has an average rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and a consensus target price of $103.50.</p><p><b>Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ashland</b></p><h2>About Ashland</h2> (Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>See Also</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Ashland</li><li>3 Home Improvement Stocks that Can Upgrade Your Portfolio</li><li>Edgewise Therapeutics Soars 50%: Key Reasons Behind the Surge</li><li>3 Warren Buffett Stocks to Buy Now</li><li>How the Fed’s Rate Cut Could Supercharge These 3 ETFs</li><li>Most active stocks: Dollar volume vs share volume</li><li>Microsoft Stock: 3 Reasons It’s Ready to Crush Q4</li></ul><p><strong>Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ASH?</strong> Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report).</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUFTSA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUFTSA"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. 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<p>First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 25.2% in Q2, owning 112,150 shares after acquiring an additional 22,550 shares. Other investors, including Commerce Bank and Vanguard, also raised their holdings. Ashland's stock performance shows a market cap of $4.41 billion, with a P/E ratio of 23.34. The company reported an EPS of $0.49, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405. Analysts have mixed ratings, with three holding and six buying the stock.</p>

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Bought by First Eagle Investment Management LLC