D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Has $4.19 Million Stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 188.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,032 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 24,863 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Innospec were worth $4,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Innospec by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 237,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,152,000 after buying an additional 2,633 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Innospec by 357.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Innospec by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 129,448 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $14,247,000 after purchasing an additional 4,376 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Innospec by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,554 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 3,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Innospec by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Innospec Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of IOSP stock opened at $88.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of 62.67 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.79. Innospec Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.32 and a 12 month high of $133.53.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $440.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.50 million. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Innospec’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Innospec’s payout ratio is currently 155.56%.

Innospec declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Innospec news, Director Leslie J. Parrette sold 446 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.63, for a total transaction of $40,420.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,193.11. The trade was a 7.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $387,788.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,079 shares in the company, valued at $2,074,160.70. This represents a 15.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,142 shares of company stock valued at $835,274 in the last three months. 1.31% of the stock is currently owned by 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.