Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) is Royce & Associates LP's 7th Largest Position

Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 9.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 835,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 70,902 shares during the quarter. Innospec accounts for about 0.9% of Royce & Associates LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Royce & Associates LP owned 3.35% of Innospec worth $94,468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in IOSP. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Innospec by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,115,167 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $401,670,000 after purchasing an additional 161,249 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Innospec by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,405,770 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $272,069,000 after acquiring an additional 105,311 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Innospec by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 908,032 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $102,689,000 after acquiring an additional 41,449 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Innospec by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 258,294 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $31,923,000 after acquiring an additional 6,148 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Innospec by 12.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 135,369 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $15,309,000 after purchasing an additional 15,287 shares in the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 1,035 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,721.76. The trade was a 10.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ian Cleminson sold 3,398 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $389,886.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,491,161.04. This represents a 20.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,035 shares of company stock worth $1,267,096 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Innospec from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

Innospec Stock Performance

IOSP stock traded down $2.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $119.03. 91,548 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 109,005. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day moving average of $112.24 and a 200-day moving average of $118.84. Innospec Inc. has a 52-week low of $103.97 and a 52-week high of $133.71.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35. Innospec had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 13.33%. The business had revenue of $443.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $442.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Innospec Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Innospec's previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.72. Innospec's payout ratio is 26.53%.

Innospec 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.