First Trust Advisors LP Has $47.32 Million Stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 429,921 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 35,377 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 1.72% of Innospec worth $47,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Innospec by 24.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,688 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,160,000 after purchasing an additional 52,640 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 237,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,633 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in Innospec by 357.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,039,000 after buying an additional 34,811 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Innospec by 63.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,152 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Innospec by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 129,448 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $14,247,000 after acquiring an additional 4,376 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Innospec

In other Innospec news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 2,692 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $278,083.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $831,668.30. The trade was a 25.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $387,788.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,074,160.70. The trade was a 15.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853. 1.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on IOSP. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday.

Innospec Trading Down 0.4 %

IOSP stock traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $89.42. 28,636 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 148,681. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 63.01 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.80. Innospec Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.32 and a twelve month high of $133.71.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.05. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The company had revenue of $466.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.43 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Innospec declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.