Bessemer Group Inc. Buys 5,086 Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,086 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.58% of Innospec worth $16,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of IOSP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Innospec by 24.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,688 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,160,000 after purchasing an additional 52,640 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Innospec by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 237,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $26,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,633 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Innospec by 5.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,103 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Innospec by 63.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,152 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Innospec by 357.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,039,000 after buying an additional 34,811 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Innospec Price Performance

IOSP stock traded down $1.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $85.89. 24,109 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 145,680. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $98.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.33. Innospec Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.32 and a 52-week high of $133.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.49 and a beta of 1.03.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.05. Innospec had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 1.93%. The company had revenue of $466.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $447.43 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Innospec

In other Innospec news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $67,351.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,376 shares in the company, valued at $865,240.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 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 value of $387,788.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,074,160.70. This trade represents a 15.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.