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

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 37.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 37,458 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 22,144 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Innospec were worth $4,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of IOSP. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Innospec by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Innospec by 82.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Innospec by 91.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Innospec by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Innospec during the 3rd quarter worth about $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Innospec news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $387,788.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,079 shares in the company, valued at $2,074,160.70. This represents a 15.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $67,351.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Innospec Price Performance

Shares of Innospec stock opened at $97.36 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.75. Innospec Inc. has a 1 year low of $95.17 and a 1 year high of $133.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.56 and a beta of 1.08.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $466.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.43 million. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Innospec declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.