Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Invests $826,000 in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 7,502 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $826,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Innospec during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,457,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Innospec in the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,992,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Innospec in the 4th quarter valued at $11,312,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Innospec by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 312,880 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,436,000 after purchasing an additional 46,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Innospec by 357.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,039,000 after purchasing an additional 34,811 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Innospec Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:IOSP opened at $93.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.77 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $92.53 and a 200 day moving average of $105.65. Innospec Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.32 and a 52 week high of $133.71.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The company’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Transactions at Innospec

In related news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total value of $61,629.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at $829,736.06. The trade was a 6.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $387,788.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,074,160.70. This trade represents a 15.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853. 1.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com lowered Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

About Innospec

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.