Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 44.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 433 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 346 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Innospec were worth $48,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IOSP. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Innospec by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Innospec in the fourth quarter valued at $53,457,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Innospec by 82.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Innospec by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,968 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Innospec by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 43,426 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,779,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Innospec from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th.

Insider Activity at Innospec

In related news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $387,788.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,074,160.70. This represents a 15.75 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $278,083.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $831,668.30. This trade represents a 25.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,098 shares of company stock worth $733,223 in the last quarter. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Innospec Stock Performance

Innospec stock opened at $104.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.51 and a beta of 1.09. Innospec Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.49 and a 1 year high of $133.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $110.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.37.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 1.93%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal 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.