Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Director Leslie J. Parrette Sells 446 Shares

Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Director Leslie J. Parrette sold 446 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now owns 5,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website.

Innospec Stock Performance

Innospec stock opened at $88.99 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.67 and a beta of 1.11. Innospec Inc. has a one year low of $80.32 and a one year high of $133.53.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $440.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.50 million. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

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

Innospec announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Innospec

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in Innospec in the first quarter worth about $586,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Innospec by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 132,399 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,545,000 after purchasing an additional 8,014 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Innospec during the 1st quarter valued at about $965,000. Petrus Trust Company LTA bought a new position in shares of Innospec during the 1st quarter valued at about $458,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Innospec by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in 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 report on Monday, April 21st.

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.