Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 77,347 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $6,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth about $452,363,000. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 9,591 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 11,184 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 2,483 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 29,027 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,454,000 after purchasing an additional 6,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 510,362 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,250 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IFF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Kevin O’byrne purchased 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of IFF opened at $77.69 on Tuesday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.73 and a 1-year high of $106.77. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.61. The stock has a market cap of $19.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is 170.21%.

International Flavors & Fragrances Profile

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.