First Trust Advisors LP Has $67.48 Million Stock Holdings in Innospec Inc. $IOSP

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its position in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 802,504 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 89,649 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Innospec were worth $67,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Innospec in the first quarter valued at about $42,966,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Innospec by 8,176.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 170,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,147,000 after purchasing an additional 168,355 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Innospec in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,230,000. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Innospec by 63.2% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 327,289 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,011,000 after purchasing an additional 126,750 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of Innospec by 1,551.5% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 95,243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,024,000 after purchasing an additional 89,476 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Innospec

In other Innospec news, Director Leslie J. Parrette purchased 340 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $74.09 per share, with a total value of $25,190.60. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $432,463.33. This represents a 6.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.31% of the company’s stock.

Innospec Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:IOSP opened at $75.04 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.74 and a 200-day moving average of $80.92. Innospec Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.10 and a 12 month high of $120.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of -2,501.33 and a beta of 0.93.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. Innospec had a negative net margin of 0.07% and a positive return on equity of 10.28%. The business had revenue of $441.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $443.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a dividend yield of 245.0%. Innospec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -5,800.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IOSP. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Innospec in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, October 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

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.