D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Has $4.19 Million Stock Position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 188.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,032 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,863 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.15% of Innospec worth $4,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in IOSP. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Innospec in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,457,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Innospec in the fourth quarter worth approximately $20,992,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Innospec during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,312,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 312,880 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $34,436,000 after purchasing an additional 46,192 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 357.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,039,000 after purchasing an additional 34,811 shares during the period. 96.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Innospec Stock Performance

Shares of IOSP stock traded down $0.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $85.58. 126,310 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 154,122. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.27 and a beta of 1.11. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $90.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.06. Innospec Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.32 and a twelve month high of $133.53.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $440.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $466.50 million. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This is a boost from Innospec's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. This represents a yield of 1.7%. Innospec's payout ratio is 155.56%.

Innospec announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on IOSP shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Innospec

In other Innospec 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 now directly owns 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $829,736.06. This trade represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.31% 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.