KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 5,000 Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 5,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $550,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Innospec during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,457,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Innospec in the 4th quarter worth about $20,992,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Innospec by 24.6% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Innospec by 357.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,039,000 after purchasing an additional 34,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. bought a new stake in Innospec in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,019,000. 96.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Innospec Stock Down 0.7 %

IOSP stock traded down $0.64 during trading on Monday, hitting $85.19. 323,875 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 142,711. Innospec Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.00 and a 52 week high of $133.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $102.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.99 and a beta of 1.03.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $466.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.43 million. Innospec had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 1.93%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 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 $67,351.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $865,240.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 2,692 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $278,083.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $831,668.30. This represents a 25.06 % 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 three months. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research 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.