Financial Harvest LLC Buys Shares of 433,843 Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Financial Harvest LLC bought a new position in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 433,843 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $41,107,000. Innospec makes up 27.3% of Financial Harvest LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Financial Harvest LLC owned about 1.73% of Innospec as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tsfg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Innospec in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Innospec in the 4th quarter valued at about $106,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Innospec by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 967 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new stake in shares of Innospec in the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Innospec by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Innospec news, Director Leslie J. Parrette sold 446 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.63, for a total transaction of $40,420.98. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at $498,193.11. This trade represents 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. 1.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Innospec Trading Down 2.3%

IOSP traded down $1.99 during trading on Friday, hitting $83.02. 175,698 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 167,982. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $86.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.87 and a beta of 1.05. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.02. Innospec had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 1.51%. The firm had revenue of $440.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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, equities analysts expect that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 155.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.