Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Purchases 863 Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 91.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Innospec were worth $198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Innospec during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Innospec during the 4th quarter valued at $1,623,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,633 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Innospec by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,923 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Innospec by 3.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,376 shares during the period. 96.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Innospec Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IOSP opened at $98.16 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.17. Innospec Inc. has a one year low of $97.13 and a one year high of $133.71. The firm has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 69.13 and a beta of 1.09.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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. Equities research analysts predict that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 2,692 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $278,083.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $831,668.30. This trade represents a 25.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $387,788.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,074,160.70. This trade represents a 15.75 % 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 valued at $794,853 over the last three months. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Innospec

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.