Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 91.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 863 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Innospec were worth $198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IOSP. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Innospec by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,805,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $204,189,000 after acquiring an additional 11,231 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Innospec by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 996,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $112,669,000 after purchasing an additional 20,744 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Innospec by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 908,032 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $102,689,000 after buying an additional 41,449 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Innospec by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 835,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $94,468,000 after buying an additional 70,902 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Innospec by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 677,283 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $76,606,000 after buying an additional 24,843 shares in the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Activity at Innospec

In other news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,074,160.70. This represents a 15.75 % 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. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 2,692 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $278,083.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $831,668.30. The trade was a 25.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Innospec Price Performance

Innospec stock opened at $98.16 on Thursday. Innospec Inc. has a 1 year low of $97.13 and a 1 year high of $133.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $109.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.17. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.13 and a beta of 1.09.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $466.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.43 million. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

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.