Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stock Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,892 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 3,592 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $2,258,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Winder Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the third quarter worth $1,728,544,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 16.3% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,672,776 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $388,358,000 after acquiring an additional 795,797 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 34.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,927,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $267,711,000 after acquiring an additional 996,629 shares during the period. First Pacific Advisors LP raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 15.8% during the third quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 3,893,127 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $265,394,000 after acquiring an additional 530,595 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 6.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,119,754 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $212,674,000 after acquiring an additional 179,894 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of IFF stock opened at $85.14 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $81.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.89. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.11 and a 1-year high of $97.49.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -15.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $81.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.35.

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.