Bank of America Corp DE Purchases 7,239 Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 233,454 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,239 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.94% of Innospec worth $25,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in Innospec by 357.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,039,000 after acquiring an additional 34,811 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Innospec by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 43,426 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,779,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Innospec by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,968 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Innospec by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Innospec by 82.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Innospec Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of IOSP stock traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $85.58. The stock had a trading volume of 126,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 154,122. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $90.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 60.27 and a beta of 1.11. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.02. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The business had revenue of $440.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $466.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

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

IOSP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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 Transactions at Innospec

In other news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total value of $61,629.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $829,736.06. This represents a 6.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 in the company, valued at $498,193.11. This trade represents a 7.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.31% of the company's stock.

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.