Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Stake Boosted by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 7,113.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,542 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 33,077 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.13% of Innospec worth $31,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Innospec by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 922,220 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $101,500,000 after purchasing an additional 14,188 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Innospec by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 692,071 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $76,184,000 after buying an additional 14,788 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Innospec by 1.0% in 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 buying an additional 4,527 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Innospec by 4.8% in 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 buying an additional 16,055 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 327,476 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $36,042,000 after acquiring an additional 15,912 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Innospec

In other news, Director Leslie J. Parrette sold 446 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.63, for a total value of $40,420.98. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,497 shares in the company, 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on IOSP shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IOSP traded up $0.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $86.13. 209,402 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 155,411. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $88.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.86. Innospec Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.32 and a 12-month high of $133.53. The firm has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.65 and a beta of 1.06.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 12.27% and a net margin of 1.93%. The company had revenue of $440.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a $0.84 dividend. 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 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.