Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Increases Stock Position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,404,825 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 19,018 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 9.57% of Innospec worth $227,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Innospec by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 922,220 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $101,500,000 after buying an additional 14,188 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Innospec by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 692,071 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $76,184,000 after purchasing an additional 14,788 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Innospec by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 467,938 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $51,502,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Innospec by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 352,577 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $38,805,000 after purchasing an additional 16,055 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Innospec by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 327,476 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $36,042,000 after purchasing an additional 15,912 shares during the period. 96.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Innospec Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:IOSP traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $84.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 84,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 162,938. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $87.38 and a 200-day moving average of $97.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.94 and a beta of 1.06. Innospec Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.32 and a 12-month high of $133.53.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.02. Innospec had a net margin of 1.51% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The firm had revenue of $440.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. The company's revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Innospec's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Innospec's dividend payout ratio is 155.56%.

Innospec announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on IOSP shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

Insider Activity at Innospec

In related news, Director Leslie J. Parrette sold 446 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.63, for a total transaction of $40,420.98. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $498,193.11. This represents a 7.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Innospec 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.