Northern Trust Corp Has $36.04 Million Holdings in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 327,476 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 15,912 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.31% of Innospec worth $36,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of IOSP. Barclays PLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 34,811 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Innospec by 8.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,282 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,116,000 after buying an additional 2,154 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Innospec by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 3,543 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Innospec in the fourth quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Burney Co. purchased a new position in shares of Innospec during the 4th quarter valued at $3,019,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.64% of the company's stock.

Innospec Stock Performance

Shares of Innospec stock traded down $0.25 on Tuesday, hitting $90.45. 242,331 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 152,291. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 63.70 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.24. Innospec Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.32 and a 1 year high of $133.59.

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

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

Innospec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Innospec's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Innospec's dividend payout ratio is presently 155.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Innospec

In related news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 2,692 shares of the company'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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $831,668.30. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 sale, the vice president now owns 20,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,074,160.70. This trade represents a 15.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853. Corporate insiders own 1.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on IOSP. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th.

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.