Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires 10,345 Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 159.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,845 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,345 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Innospec worth $1,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Innospec by 0.6% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,805,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $204,189,000 after buying an additional 11,231 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Innospec by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 996,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $112,669,000 after purchasing an additional 20,744 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Innospec by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 922,220 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $101,500,000 after purchasing an additional 14,188 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Innospec by 3.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 677,283 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,606,000 after purchasing an additional 24,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Innospec in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,457,000. 96.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th.

Innospec Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IOSP opened at $98.42 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $107.12 and its 200-day moving average is $111.02. The company has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.31 and a beta of 1.08. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $466.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.43 million. Innospec had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 1.93%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Innospec

In other news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 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 transaction of $67,351.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $865,240.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $829,736.06. The trade was a 6.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.