Claro Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Claro Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 2,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Innospec by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,405,770 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $272,069,000 after acquiring an additional 105,311 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Innospec by 0.6% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,805,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $204,189,000 after purchasing an additional 11,231 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Innospec by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 996,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $112,669,000 after purchasing an additional 20,744 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Innospec by 4.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 908,032 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,689,000 after purchasing an additional 41,449 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of Innospec by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 835,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $94,468,000 after buying an additional 70,902 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Innospec Price Performance

NASDAQ IOSP opened at $113.06 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $114.58 and its 200-day moving average is $114.92. Innospec Inc. has a one year low of $103.65 and a one year high of $133.71. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.73 and a beta of 1.09.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.35. The firm had revenue of $443.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.13 million. Innospec had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 13.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Innospec Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $0.79 dividend. This is a boost from Innospec’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.72. This represents a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Innospec’s payout ratio is currently 27.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Innospec news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 1,035 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.92, for a total value of $127,222.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,721.76. The trade was a 10.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Innospec from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th.

About Innospec

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.