International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Shares Purchased by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 23.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 122,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,388 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $9,928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 48.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 244 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 310 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on IFF shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $81.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $89.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Argus lowered International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.35.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 0.4 %

IFF stock opened at $83.97 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.11 and a 12-month high of $97.49.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 5.09% and a negative net margin of 22.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is presently -15.94%.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company 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.