International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Stake Cut by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. reduced its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,806 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,647 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $2,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 195.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,972 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,291 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter worth about $247,000. Ziegler Capital Management LLC increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 74,766 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,097,000 after purchasing an additional 5,824 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 6,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Chad R acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,189,000. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IFF. UBS Group increased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Citigroup raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Argus lowered International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $89.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.35.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $84.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $21.67 billion, a PE ratio of -8.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.23. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a one year low of $62.11 and a one year high of $97.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.68.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is -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.