Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $14.14 Million Stock Position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

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

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Innospec by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,115,167 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $401,670,000 after purchasing an additional 161,249 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 105,311 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Innospec by 98.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 120,082 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $14,841,000 after acquiring an additional 59,554 shares during the last quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L bought a new stake in Innospec during the first quarter valued at approximately $7,090,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in Innospec by 117.3% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 81,311 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $10,049,000 after acquiring an additional 43,898 shares in the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Innospec Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of IOSP opened at $119.03 on Friday. Innospec Inc. has a 52 week low of $103.97 and a 52 week high of $133.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $112.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.84.

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

Innospec Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Innospec’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.72. Innospec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ian Cleminson sold 3,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $389,886.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,491,161.04. This trade represents a 20.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 1,035 shares of Innospec 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 in the company, valued at $1,109,721.76. This trade represents a 10.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,035 shares of company stock valued at $1,267,096. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Innospec from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

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.