Bessemer Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 99.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 446 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 145,129 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Innospec were worth $43,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 14,788 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Innospec by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 312,880 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $34,436,000 after purchasing an additional 46,192 shares in the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Innospec

In other news, Director Leslie J. Parrette sold 446 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.63, for a total value of $40,420.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,497 shares in the company, valued at $498,193.11. The trade was a 7.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

Innospec Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IOSP opened at $88.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.13 and a beta of 1.05. Innospec Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.32 and a fifty-two week high of $133.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.23.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $440.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.50 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. Innospec's revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This is a positive change from Innospec's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. Innospec's payout ratio is currently 155.56%.

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.

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