Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Shares Sold by Wasatch Advisors LP

Wasatch Advisors LP reduced its holdings in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,580,115 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 225,431 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP owned approximately 0.06% of Innospec worth $173,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Innospec in the fourth quarter worth about $106,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 967 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Innospec by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Innospec by 82.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Innospec by 91.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $387,788.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,074,160.70. This represents a 15.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total transaction of $61,629.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $829,736.06. This represents a 6.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Innospec Stock Down 0.3 %

Innospec stock opened at $87.23 on Wednesday. Innospec Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.32 and a 52-week high of $133.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.43 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.33.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.05. Innospec had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 1.93%. The business had revenue of $466.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.43 million. Research analysts expect that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Innospec declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Innospec Company Profile

Innospec Inc develops, manufactures, blends, markets, and supplies specialty chemicals in the United States, rest of North America, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and internationally. The company's Fuel Specialties segment offers a range of specialty chemical products that are used as additives in additives in diesel, jet, marine, fuel oil and other fuels.