Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 2,798 Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 125,072 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,798 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.50% of Innospec worth $14,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in IOSP. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Innospec by 4.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,405,770 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $272,069,000 after acquiring an additional 105,311 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Innospec by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,805,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $204,189,000 after purchasing an additional 11,231 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Innospec by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 996,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $112,669,000 after purchasing an additional 20,744 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Innospec by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 908,032 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,689,000 after purchasing an additional 41,449 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in Innospec by 9.3% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 835,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $94,468,000 after purchasing an additional 70,902 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut Innospec from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Innospec Stock Down 0.8 %

IOSP opened at $110.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $115.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.36. Innospec Inc. has a twelve month low of $103.97 and a twelve month high of $133.71.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35. The business had revenue of $443.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $442.13 million. Innospec had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 13.33%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Innospec Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Innospec’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.72. This represents a dividend yield of 1.3%. Innospec’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.57%.

Insider Transactions at Innospec

In other news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 1,035 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.92, for a total value of $127,222.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,109,721.76. This represents a 10.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.