Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Purchases Shares of 8,500 Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $936,000.

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

Innospec Stock Performance

IOSP traded down $0.42 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $89.48. The stock had a trading volume of 160,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 150,240. The business has a 50-day moving average of $93.82 and a 200-day moving average of $106.56. Innospec Inc. has a one year low of $80.32 and a one year high of $133.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 63.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Innospec

In other news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $387,788.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,074,160.70. This trade represents a 15.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 2,692 shares of the business'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 $278,083.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $831,668.30. This trade represents a 25.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IOSP. StockNews.com upgraded Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

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.