Vanguard Group Inc. Has $2.55 Billion Stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,218,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 164,945 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $2,554,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 114,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,654,000 after acquiring an additional 11,406 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 24,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 8,728 shares during the period. Covea Finance raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 79.0% during the 4th quarter. Covea Finance now owns 123,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,407,000 after purchasing an additional 54,340 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at $7,508,000. Finally, S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 372.9% during the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 63,104 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,335,000 after purchasing an additional 49,761 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 0.8 %

IFF stock opened at $76.90 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $82.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.34. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.60 and a fifty-two week high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.14. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. Analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 170.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, Director Kevin O’byrne purchased 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IFF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays decreased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Cfra lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.77.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B’s Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B’s Health & Biosciences division.