ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF – Free Report) by 6.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 341,237 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,486 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $28,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.7% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 3,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 706 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 3,850 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,875 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages have issued reports on IFF. Vertical Research lowered International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $93.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.69.
Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances
In other news, insider De Mendonca Ana Paula Teles sold 5,718 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.19, for a total value of $475,680.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Marc Birenkrant sold 1,000 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $85,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,910. The trade was a 22.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,543 shares of company stock worth $1,315,659. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 1.4%
IFF opened at $89.46 on Thursday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.29 and a 12 month high of $89.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $84.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.97. The company has a market cap of $22.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.91.
International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.25). International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.
International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is presently 146.79%.
International Flavors & Fragrances announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 4th that permits the company to buy back $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 12.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
About International Flavors & Fragrances
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) develops and manufactures ingredients and solutions used in food, beverages, personal care products, fragrances, household products, pharmaceuticals and other consumer goods. The company works with manufacturers to create flavors, fragrances, functional ingredients and sensory experiences for products sold under consumer brands.
IFF’s portfolio includes natural and synthetic flavor compounds, fragrance ingredients, specialty ingredients, food texturants, enzymes, cultures, probiotics and pharmaceutical excipients.
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