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

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

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IOSP. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Innospec during the 4th quarter worth about $106,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Innospec by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 967 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Innospec by 82.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Innospec by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Innospec by 91.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total value of $61,629.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $829,736.06. This trade represents a 6.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $67,351.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $865,240.80. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on IOSP shares. StockNews.com cut Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Innospec Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IOSP opened at $90.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.70 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $92.05 and a 200-day moving average of $105.24. Innospec Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.32 and a fifty-two week high of $133.59.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) 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 company had revenue of $440.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $466.50 million. Innospec had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 1.93%. Innospec’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This is a boost from Innospec’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. Innospec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 155.56%.

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.