International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $93.43.

IFF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, CEO J Erik Fyrwald acquired 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $74.00 per share, for a total transaction of $51,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,794,980. This represents a 1.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Stephen N. Landsman acquired 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $77.28 per share, for a total transaction of $927,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $927,360. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 22,050 shares of company stock worth $1,688,512 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 114,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,654,000 after purchasing an additional 11,406 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,099,000. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 299.1% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 138,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,712,000 after purchasing an additional 103,810 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 361,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,529,000 after purchasing an additional 68,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,419 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,843,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of IFF opened at $76.69 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $19.62 billion, a PE ratio of 81.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.45. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 12-month low of $65.85 and a 12-month high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.08. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is presently -48.93%.

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.