Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Position Lessened by Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd.

Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. decreased its stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 32.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,592 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 772 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd.’s holdings in Innospec were worth $175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IOSP. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 357.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,039,000 after purchasing an additional 34,811 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Innospec by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,282 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Innospec by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 43,426 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,779,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Innospec by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,968 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Innospec by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Innospec Price Performance

IOSP opened at $88.99 on Friday. Innospec Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.32 and a 12 month high of $133.53. The stock has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.67 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $91.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.83.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.02. Innospec had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 1.93%. The company had revenue of $440.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $466.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This is a boost from Innospec’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. Innospec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 155.56%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 2,692 shares of Innospec 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 directly owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $831,668.30. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $387,788.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,079 shares in the company, valued at $2,074,160.70. The trade was a 15.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,142 shares of company stock worth $835,274. 1.31% of the stock is owned by company 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.