Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 124 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 9.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,895,581 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $163,003,000 after purchasing an additional 162,179 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the first quarter worth about $83,000. OLD Mission Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the first quarter worth about $4,665,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the first quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 9.6% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 255,849 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $22,002,000 after acquiring an additional 22,398 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on IFF shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Angela Strzelecki sold 2,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.66, for a total value of $247,568.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,539 shares in the company, valued at $816,840.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 1.7 %

IFF traded up $1.74 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $101.30. The stock had a trading volume of 197,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,836,998. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.68. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.11 and a 1-year high of $101.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $96.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.08.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 5.78% and a negative net margin of 22.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 21st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.38%.

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.