Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Sells 9,662 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,138 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 9,662 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $3,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of IFF. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 638 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Cfra downgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.50.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 0.5 %

IFF stock opened at $79.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.91 and a fifty-two week high of $106.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.54 and a 200-day moving average of $91.89.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.14. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is 170.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin O’byrne acquired 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $522,860. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

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.