ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 244,736 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 15,056 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $20,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.2% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 615,006 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $64,533,000 after purchasing an additional 7,553 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 2nd quarter worth $868,000. Appian Way Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the second quarter worth $2,990,000. Covea Finance increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 79.0% during the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 123,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,407,000 after acquiring an additional 54,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter worth about $1,740,000. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $297,086.50. This trade represents a 60.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on IFF shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $107.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $111.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.23.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Up 0.5 %

IFF stock opened at $84.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $86.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.46. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a one year low of $72.94 and a one year high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.46). The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.16% and a negative net margin of 20.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. Research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Profile

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.