ING Groep NV Makes New Investment in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 126,792 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,304,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 29.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,453 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 55.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 101,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $8,686,000 after purchasing an additional 36,026 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 81.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 201,111 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $17,290,000 after purchasing an additional 90,110 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,619 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the first quarter worth about $239,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.75, for a total transaction of $458,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $297,086.50. The trade was a 60.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $89.37 on Friday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a one year low of $72.89 and a one year high of $106.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.23.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.46). The firm 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%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -17.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $109.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $107.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $93.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.27.

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.