Royce & Associates LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Royce & Associates LP cut its position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 777,711 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 57,622 shares during the quarter. Innospec comprises about 0.8% of Royce & Associates LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 3.12% of Innospec worth $85,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Innospec by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Innospec by 82.3% in 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. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Innospec by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Innospec in the third quarter valued at approximately $215,000. 96.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday.

Innospec Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IOSP opened at $98.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.08 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $107.77 and its 200 day moving average is $111.42. Innospec Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.39 and a 52 week high of $133.71.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.05. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The firm had revenue of $466.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.43 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Innospec declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Innospec

In other Innospec news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total value of $61,629.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at $829,736.06. The trade was a 6.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $67,351.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $865,240.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.35% of the company’s stock.

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.