Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $577,000 Stock Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 157.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,435 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,548 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth $8,099,000. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 299.1% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 138,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,712,000 after purchasing an additional 103,810 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 361,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,529,000 after purchasing an additional 68,970 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,419 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,843,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 72.2% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 635,598 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $53,740,000 after buying an additional 266,392 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on IFF shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $104.00 to $89.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.43.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of IFF stock opened at $74.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.39. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.85 and a fifty-two week high of $106.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $76.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.88. The firm has a market cap of $19.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.88, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.05.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.99% and a negative net margin of 7.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is -48.93%.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, CAO Beril Yildiz sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.33, for a total value of $185,592.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,812.93. This trade represents a 41.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO J Erik Fyrwald bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $74.00 per share, for a total transaction of $51,800.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,794,980. The trade was a 1.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 22,050 shares of company stock worth $1,688,512 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B’s Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B’s Health & Biosciences division.