Jump Financial LLC Buys New Shares in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,758 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $744,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. 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 grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,633 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Innospec by 357.1% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 63.6% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,152 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Innospec by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 129,448 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $14,247,000 after acquiring an additional 4,376 shares during the period. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on IOSP. StockNews.com cut shares of Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 2,692 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $278,083.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at $831,668.30. The trade was a 25.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,074,160.70. This 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 worth $794,853. Corporate insiders own 1.31% of the company's stock.

Innospec Stock Performance

Shares of Innospec stock traded down $0.54 on Friday, reaching $89.79. 131,547 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 148,865. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 63.23 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's 50 day moving average is $94.61 and its 200-day moving average is $107.03. Innospec Inc. has a one year low of $80.32 and a one year high of $133.71.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $466.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $447.43 million. Innospec had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 1.93%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.