Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 102,779 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $11,312,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.41% of Innospec at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Innospec in the fourth quarter worth about $106,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Innospec by 54.2% in the 4th 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 increased its position in shares of Innospec by 82.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Innospec by 91.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 863 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 during the period. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Innospec

In other news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $829,736.06. This trade represents a 6.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 20,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,074,160.70. The trade was a 15.75 % decrease in their position. 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Innospec Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:IOSP traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $87.47. 145,992 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 145,261. Innospec Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.32 and a 52 week high of $133.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.60 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's 50 day moving average is $99.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.70.

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

Innospec announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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.