Voloridge Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 26.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,460 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 15,244 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned 0.17% of Innospec worth $4,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Innospec in the 4th quarter worth $106,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Innospec by 82.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Innospec by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Innospec by 91.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Leslie J. Parrette sold 446 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Innospec Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Innospec stock traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $85.33. 171,896 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 154,520. The business has a 50-day moving average of $89.11 and a 200 day moving average of $102.67. Innospec Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.32 and a fifty-two week high of $133.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 60.09 and a beta of 1.11.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.02. Innospec had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 1.93%. The firm had revenue of $440.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $466.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is a boost from Innospec's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a yield of 1.7%. Innospec's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 155.56%.

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

About Innospec

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.