Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 16,055 Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 352,577 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,055 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.41% of Innospec worth $38,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of IOSP. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in Innospec by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,805,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $204,189,000 after buying an additional 11,231 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Innospec by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 996,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $112,669,000 after acquiring an additional 20,744 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Innospec by 3.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 677,283 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $76,606,000 after purchasing an additional 24,843 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Innospec during the 4th quarter worth about $53,457,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Innospec by 24.6% during 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 during the period. 96.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday.

Innospec Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Innospec stock opened at $98.09 on Friday. Innospec Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.39 and a 12 month high of $133.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.42. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 69.08 and a beta of 1.08.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts expect that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Innospec

In other news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of the company’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 $67,351.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,376 shares in the company, valued at $865,240.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total transaction of $61,629.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $829,736.06. The trade was a 6.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853. 1.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.