Teacher Retirement System of Texas Decreases Stock Position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its holdings in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,360 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.23% of Innospec worth $6,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Innospec by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Innospec by 82.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Innospec by 91.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Innospec by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Innospec during the third quarter worth $215,000. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Innospec Price Performance

Innospec stock opened at $96.01 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $106.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.61 and a beta of 1.08. Innospec Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.17 and a 12-month high of $133.71.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.05. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The firm had revenue of $466.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.43 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the firm’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 $387,788.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,074,160.70. This trade represents a 15.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $829,736.06. This trade represents a 6.91 % decrease in their position. 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 quarter. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.