Norges Bank Buys New Shares in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 102,779 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,312,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.41% of Innospec at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Innospec during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,457,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Innospec in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,992,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Innospec by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,688 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,160,000 after purchasing an additional 52,640 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Innospec by 357.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,039,000 after purchasing an additional 34,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. acquired a new position in shares of Innospec during the fourth quarter worth $3,019,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Innospec Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of IOSP opened at $85.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.99 and a beta of 1.03. Innospec Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.32 and a 52-week high of $133.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $102.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.72.

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. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The firm had revenue of $466.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.43 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Innospec news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total transaction of $61,629.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $829,736.06. The trade was a 6.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of the 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 $67,351.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $865,240.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

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.