Wasatch Advisors LP Sells 225,431 Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Wasatch Advisors LP decreased its position in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,580,115 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 225,431 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP owned 6.34% of Innospec worth $173,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 922,220 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $101,500,000 after purchasing an additional 14,188 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Innospec by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 692,071 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $76,184,000 after purchasing an additional 14,788 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Innospec during the 4th quarter worth $53,457,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Innospec by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 352,577 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $38,805,000 after acquiring an additional 16,055 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Innospec by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 312,880 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $34,436,000 after purchasing an additional 46,192 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.64% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 2,692 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $278,083.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $831,668.30. The trade was a 25.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $387,788.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,079 shares in the company, valued at $2,074,160.70. The trade was a 15.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853. 1.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Innospec Stock Performance

IOSP traded up $0.44 on Friday, reaching $85.92. 145,646 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 147,092. The company's 50 day moving average is $97.20 and its 200-day moving average is $107.98. Innospec Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.32 and a twelve month high of $133.71. The company has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.51 and a beta of 1.03.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.43 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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.