Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 3,045 Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 132,493 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,045 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.53% of Innospec worth $12,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tsfg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Innospec in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Innospec in the fourth quarter valued at about $106,000. Covestor Ltd increased 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 valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new position in Innospec during the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Innospec by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on IOSP. Wall Street Zen lowered Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Insider Transactions at Innospec

In related news, Director Leslie J. Parrette sold 446 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.63, for a total value of $40,420.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,497 shares in the company, valued at $498,193.11. The trade was a 7.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Innospec Stock Performance

Shares of IOSP stock traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $84.43. 134,729 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 167,060. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.18 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $86.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.04. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $440.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $466.50 million. Innospec had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 1.51%. The business's revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

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