Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 81.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,835 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 110,534 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.10% of Innospec worth $2,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IOSP. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Innospec in the second quarter worth approximately $1,137,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Innospec in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $371,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Innospec during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $405,000. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in Innospec by 48.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 5,153 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Innospec by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 54,857 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,780,000 after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Innospec from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th.

Innospec Stock Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ IOSP traded down $1.36 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $115.25. The stock had a trading volume of 125,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 98,329. The company has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11 and a beta of 1.09. Innospec Inc. has a twelve month low of $103.65 and a twelve month high of $133.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $113.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.67.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.35 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $443.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Innospec Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 1,035 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.92, for a total value of $127,222.20. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.