American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 12,084 Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 48.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,084 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.15% of Innospec worth $4,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in IOSP. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Innospec by 82.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Innospec by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Innospec during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. 96.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Innospec Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IOSP traded down $3.36 during trading on Thursday, hitting $86.52. 154,709 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 144,999. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.93 and a beta of 1.03. The business's fifty day moving average is $99.79 and its 200-day moving average is $108.86. Innospec Inc. has a one year low of $80.32 and a one year high of $133.71.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) 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 net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The company had revenue of $466.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.43 million. On average, analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total transaction of $61,629.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $829,736.06. The trade was a 6.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the company'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 $387,788.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,074,160.70. This represents a 15.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.