JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 46,192 Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 312,880 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 46,192 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 1.25% of Innospec worth $34,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Innospec during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Innospec by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew 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 worth $136,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $198,000 after buying an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Innospec Stock Up 1.1 %

IOSP traded up $0.95 during trading on Friday, reaching $87.47. The company had a trading volume of 145,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,261. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.60 and a beta of 1.03. Innospec Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.32 and a 52 week 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. The firm had revenue of $466.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $447.43 million. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Innospec

In other Innospec news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 20,079 shares in the company, valued at $2,074,160.70. This represents a 15.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $829,736.06. This trade represents a 6.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853 in the last quarter. 1.52% of the stock is 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.