Millennium Management LLC Sells 30,723 Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Millennium Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 93.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,059 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 30,723 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC's holdings in Innospec were worth $227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Innospec by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,188 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,562,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Innospec by 1.0% during the fourth 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. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Innospec during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,931,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its position in Innospec by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 5,684 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. raised its position in Innospec by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 3,790 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.64% of the company's stock.

Innospec Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of IOSP traded down $2.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $84.77. The company had a trading volume of 204,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 157,757. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.70 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $88.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.45. Innospec Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.32 and a 52-week high of $133.53.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $440.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.50 million. Innospec had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 1.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. This is an increase from Innospec's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. Innospec's payout ratio is currently 155.56%.

Innospec declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IOSP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Insider Activity at Innospec

In related news, Director Leslie J. Parrette sold 446 shares of the business'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 transaction, the director now owns 5,497 shares in the company, valued at $498,193.11. The trade was a 7.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.