Janus Henderson Group PLC Buys 4,527 Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 467,938 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,527 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 1.88% of Innospec worth $51,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Innospec during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,931,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Innospec by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 5,684 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 3,790 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in Innospec by 188.8% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 38,032 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,186,000 after acquiring an additional 24,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Innospec by 60.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 21,983 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 8,286 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 2,692 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $278,083.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $831,668.30. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leslie J. Parrette sold 446 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 5,497 shares in the company, valued at $498,193.11. The trade was a 7.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,142 shares of company stock valued at $835,274 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.31% of the company's stock.

Innospec Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ IOSP traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $89.41. The company had a trading volume of 21,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,195. The stock has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 62.76 and a beta of 1.11. Innospec Inc. has a one year low of $80.32 and a one year high of $133.53. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $91.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.77.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $440.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.50 million. Innospec had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 1.93%. 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. As a group, equities research 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 will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Innospec's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. Innospec's dividend payout ratio is presently 155.56%.

Innospec announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership 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.