Xponance Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,488 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 9,100 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $3,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,213,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 299.1% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 138,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,712,000 after purchasing an additional 103,810 shares during the period. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,449 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 181,304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,329,000 after purchasing an additional 12,078 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on IFF shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Cfra lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IFF opened at $79.71 on Friday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.91 and a fifty-two week high of $106.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.05. The company has a market capitalization of $20.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 1.84.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. Analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 170.21%.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, Director Kevin O’byrne purchased 6,500 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances 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.