Royce & Associates LP Has $23.36 Million Stake in Innospec Inc. $IOSP

Royce & Associates LP decreased its stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 38.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 305,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 187,388 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Innospec were worth $23,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Innospec in the 3rd quarter valued at $565,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Innospec by 291.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 75,814 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,803,000 after buying an additional 56,425 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Innospec by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 45,174 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,486,000 after buying an additional 16,360 shares in the last quarter. Western Standard LLC acquired a new stake in Innospec in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,083,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Innospec by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 96,866 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,474,000 after buying an additional 11,907 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Innospec Stock Performance

Innospec stock opened at $81.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $75.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.06. Innospec Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.51 and a 52 week high of $92.14.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $453.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $432.14 million. Innospec had a return on equity of 9.32% and a net margin of 6.38%.The business’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Innospec Inc. will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Innospec Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 239.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. Innospec’s dividend payout ratio is 40.09%.

Insider Transactions at Innospec

In other news, Director David Landless sold 594 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.56, for a total transaction of $45,476.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $584,305.92. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP David B. Jones sold 1,028 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.64, for a total value of $77,757.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,693 shares in the company, valued at $1,111,378.52. This trade represents a 6.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,929 shares of company stock worth $223,298. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on IOSP shares. Zacks Research raised Innospec from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Innospec from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Innospec presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

About Innospec

Innospec Incorporated (NASDAQ: IOSP) is a global specialty chemicals company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The company operates through three principal business segments: Fuel Specialties, Oilfield Services, and Performance Chemicals. In the Fuel Specialties segment, Innospec develops and supplies additives designed to enhance octane levels, improve combustion efficiency, reduce emissions and prevent deposit formation in gasoline and diesel engines. Its Oilfield Services division provides chemical technologies—such as surfactants, corrosion inhibitors and demulsifiers—to support exploration, drilling, production optimization and enhanced oil recovery operations.