International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Shares Sold by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL lessened its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 21.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,564 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,027 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IFF. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 115,477 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,764,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at $265,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 53.6% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 15,541 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 5,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 54.5% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,678 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 1.0%

International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $63.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.03, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.04. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a one year low of $63.50 and a one year high of $106.77. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.27.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 3.48% and a positive return on equity of 7.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 29th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is -103.23%.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, CEO J Erik Fyrwald purchased 15,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $64.95 per share, for a total transaction of $993,735.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,025,181.50. The trade was a 24.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Beril Yildiz sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.33, for a total transaction of $185,592.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,812.93. This trade represents a 41.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 52,100 shares of company stock valued at $3,631,607. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.36.

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.