Man Group plc Has $355,000 Position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Man Group plc reduced its stake in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 42.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,221 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,382 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc’s holdings in Innospec were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Innospec by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 922,220 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $101,500,000 after buying an additional 14,188 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Innospec by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 692,071 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $76,184,000 after buying an additional 14,788 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Innospec in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,457,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Innospec by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 467,938 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $51,502,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Innospec by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 352,577 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,805,000 after purchasing an additional 16,055 shares during the period. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IOSP. Wall Street Zen lowered Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

Innospec Stock Performance

Shares of IOSP opened at $85.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.55. Innospec Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.32 and a 52-week high of $133.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 60.27 and a beta of 1.11.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 1.93%. Innospec’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This is a boost from Innospec’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a yield of 1.7%. Innospec’s payout ratio is presently 155.56%.

Innospec announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Innospec

In other Innospec news, Director Leslie J. Parrette sold 446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.63, for a total value of $40,420.98. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,497 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.31% of the company’s stock.

Innospec 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.