Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 132,493 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,045 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.53% of Innospec worth $12,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IOSP. Tsfg LLC purchased a new position in Innospec in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Innospec in the fourth quarter valued at about $106,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Innospec by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 967 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in Innospec in the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Innospec by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. 96.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Innospec Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IOSP opened at $88.26 on Friday. Innospec Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.32 and a 1 year high of $133.53. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.72 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.39.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.02. Innospec had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 1.51%. The business had revenue of $440.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a $0.84 dividend. This is a positive change from Innospec’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. This represents a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Innospec’s payout ratio is currently 155.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on IOSP shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Leslie J. Parrette sold 446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.63, for a total value of $40,420.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,193.11. The trade was a 7.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Innospec Company 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.