International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 289,423 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 44,915 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $19,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 5.5% during the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 36,972,638 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,275,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925,251 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,133,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,915,936,000 after acquiring an additional 252,983 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,971,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $679,460,000 after acquiring an additional 86,134 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 131.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,167,176 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $441,068,000 after acquiring an additional 4,069,075 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 27.3% during the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 6,927,070 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $426,292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,485,976 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 142,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.13 per share, for a total transaction of $9,958,460.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,422,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,906,054.90. This represents a 6.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on IFF shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.10.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $72.59 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $18.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -52.99, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.02. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.14 and a 1-year high of $84.45.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.05). International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 3.20% and a positive return on equity of 7.67%. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is currently -116.79%.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) is a global leader in the creation and production of flavors, fragrances, cosmetic actives and nutritional lipids. The company develops taste and scent solutions for a wide array of end markets including food and beverage, personal care, household goods and pharmaceutical products. Its portfolio spans natural and nature-identical flavors, fine fragrances, functional ingredients for skin and hair care, and specialty oils that enhance nutritional value and sensory appeal.

IFF’s research and development network comprises innovation centers in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, where multidisciplinary teams collaborate on aroma chemistry, sensory science and biotechnology.