Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Shares Purchased by Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 141.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,647 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,533 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Innospec worth $4,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Innospec by 13.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Innospec by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Innospec by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Innospec by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.64% of the company's stock.

Innospec Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of IOSP traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $88.57. The company had a trading volume of 56,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,075. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.12. The company has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.40 and a beta of 1.11. Innospec Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.32 and a 12-month high of $133.59.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $440.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.50 million. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Innospec's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. Innospec's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 155.56%.

Innospec declared that its board 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 a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total transaction of $61,629.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $829,736.06. The trade was a 6.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 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 transaction of $387,788.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,074,160.70. The trade was a 15.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.31% 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.