Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Makes New Investment in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 962 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Innospec during the 4th quarter valued at $53,457,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Innospec in the 4th quarter worth $20,992,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Innospec by 24.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,688 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,160,000 after acquiring an additional 52,640 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Innospec during the third quarter valued at $5,486,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Innospec by 357.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,039,000 after acquiring an additional 34,811 shares during the period. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Innospec Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ IOSP opened at $98.24 on Thursday. Innospec Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.17 and a 12-month high of $133.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.18 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $106.17 and a 200 day moving average of $110.66.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $466.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.43 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Innospec news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $387,788.20. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 2,692 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $831,668.30. This trade represents a 25.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853 over the last quarter. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.