Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $4.12 Million Position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 37.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,458 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 22,144 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.15% of Innospec worth $4,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Innospec during the fourth quarter worth $257,000. Vestcor Inc bought a new position in Innospec during the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Innospec by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 49,103 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,404,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Innospec by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,494 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Innospec by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total value of $61,629.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $829,736.06. This represents a 6.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $865,240.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Innospec Stock Down 0.9 %

IOSP opened at $97.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.56 and a beta of 1.08. Innospec Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.17 and a 12 month high of $133.71. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.75.

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

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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday.

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.