HighTower Advisors LLC Has $350,000 Position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,103 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 154 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Innospec were worth $350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Innospec by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,819 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $843,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Innospec by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,962 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in shares of Innospec by 0.6% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 21,891 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,706,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in Innospec by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Innospec by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,421 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Innospec Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IOSP opened at $109.71 on Monday. Innospec Inc. has a 52 week low of $103.97 and a 52 week high of $133.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.78. The firm has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 1.09.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last announced 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. Innospec had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 13.33%. The company had revenue of $443.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $442.13 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Innospec Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Innospec’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.72. This represents a yield of 1.3%. Innospec’s payout ratio is currently 27.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Innospec

In other Innospec news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 1,035 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.92, for a total value of $127,222.20. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.