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

Millennium Management LLC lowered its position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 93.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,059 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 30,723 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC's holdings in Innospec were worth $227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of IOSP. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Innospec in the 4th quarter worth approximately $106,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Innospec by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 967 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Innospec by 91.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 863 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new stake in Innospec during the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Innospec by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Innospec

In related news, Director Leslie J. Parrette sold 446 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.63, for a total transaction of $40,420.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at $498,193.11. This trade represents a 7.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Innospec Stock Performance

IOSP traded down $1.18 on Thursday, hitting $87.18. 156,829 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 157,057. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 61.39 and a beta of 1.06. Innospec Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.32 and a 12 month high of $133.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.02.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. Innospec'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 earnings per share for the current year.

Innospec announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are 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 given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Innospec's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. Innospec's payout ratio is currently 155.56%.

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.