Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $1.83 Million Position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,185 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 120 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Innospec were worth $1,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Innospec during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,925,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in Innospec by 204,935.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 57,410 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,075,000 after acquiring an additional 57,382 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Innospec by 198.5% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 60,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,804,000 after acquiring an additional 40,250 shares in the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC bought a new position in Innospec during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,866,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in Innospec by 1.1% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,972,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $254,284,000 after acquiring an additional 22,094 shares in the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Innospec news, SVP Hardy Louis Griffin III sold 525 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.78, for a total transaction of $68,134.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,523 shares in the company, valued at $586,994.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Innospec Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IOSP traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $124.71. The stock had a trading volume of 117,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,870. Innospec Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.69 and a 52 week high of $133.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.32.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.11. Innospec had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 14.22%. The company had revenue of $500.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.15 million. On average, analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Innospec Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This represents a yield of 1.2%. Innospec’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th.

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.