Cerity Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 324.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,664 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,445 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Innospec were worth $1,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Innospec by 4.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,405,770 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $272,069,000 after buying an additional 105,311 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in Innospec by 9.3% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 835,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $94,468,000 after buying an additional 70,902 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Innospec by 98.4% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 120,082 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $14,841,000 after buying an additional 59,554 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in Innospec by 117.3% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 81,311 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $10,049,000 after buying an additional 43,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Innospec by 4.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 908,032 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,689,000 after buying an additional 41,449 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Innospec from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

Insider Transactions at Innospec

In other news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 1,035 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.92, for a total value of $127,222.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,109,721.76. This trade represents a 10.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.35% of the company’s stock.

Innospec Price Performance

NASDAQ:IOSP opened at $119.45 on Wednesday. Innospec Inc. has a 1 year low of $103.97 and a 1 year high of $133.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85 and a beta of 1.09.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35. Innospec had a return on equity of 13.33% and a net margin of 7.68%. The firm had revenue of $443.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.13 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Innospec Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Innospec’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.72. This represents a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Innospec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.57%.

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.