Royce & Associates LP Has $61.93 Million Position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 16.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 653,636 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 124,075 shares during the quarter. Innospec comprises 0.7% of Royce & Associates LP's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 2.60% of Innospec worth $61,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tsfg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Innospec in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Innospec in the 4th quarter valued at $106,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Innospec by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 967 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new stake in Innospec during the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its holdings in shares of Innospec by 167.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,976 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IOSP. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

Innospec Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:IOSP traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $84.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 252,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 216,777. The firm has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.13 and a beta of 1.05. Innospec Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.32 and a 1 year high of $133.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $85.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.71.

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 net margin of 1.51% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $440.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Leslie J. Parrette sold 446 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.