HF Advisory Group LLC Increases Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

HF Advisory Group LLC raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,282 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 561 shares during the quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $616,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the third quarter valued at about $48,000. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.75, for a total value of $458,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $297,086.50. This represents a 60.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $111.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $107.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup lowered their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.23.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

IFF opened at $84.87 on Friday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.94 and a 1-year high of $106.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $86.80 and a 200-day moving average of $95.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.93.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.46). The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 20.33% and a positive return on equity of 7.16%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is currently -17.60%.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cosmetic active and natural health ingredients for use in various consumer products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent, and Pharma Solutions.