Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 2.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 125,072 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,798 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Innospec were worth $14,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Innospec by 4.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,405,770 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $272,069,000 after acquiring an additional 105,311 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Innospec by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,805,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $204,189,000 after purchasing an additional 11,231 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Innospec by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 996,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $112,669,000 after purchasing an additional 20,744 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Innospec by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 908,032 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,689,000 after purchasing an additional 41,449 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its position in Innospec by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 835,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $94,468,000 after purchasing an additional 70,902 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Innospec news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 1,035 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 9,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,721.76. This trade represents a 10.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut Innospec from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th.

Innospec Price Performance

Shares of Innospec stock opened at $110.66 on Friday. Innospec Inc. has a one year low of $103.97 and a one year high of $133.71. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Innospec Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. 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 was Monday, November 18th. Innospec’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.