Connors Investor Services Inc. Cuts Stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Connors Investor Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 27.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,769 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 9,080 shares during the period. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Innospec were worth $3,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IOSP. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Innospec by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Innospec by 0.9% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 14,185 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,829,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in shares of Innospec by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 21,762 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,806,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Innospec by 29,800.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Innospec by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,030 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Innospec Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IOSP traded down $2.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $126.38. The stock had a trading volume of 83,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 121,861. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $126.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.49. Innospec Inc. has a twelve month low of $95.69 and a twelve month high of $133.71.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.11. Innospec had a return on equity of 14.22% and a net margin of 7.60%. The business had revenue of $500.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.15 million. Equities research analysts predict that Innospec Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. Innospec’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Innospec

In other news, SVP Hardy Louis Griffin III sold 525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.78, for a total value of $68,134.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,523 shares in the company, valued at $586,994.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th.

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.