Sunbelt Securities Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 872.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,323 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter valued at $46,000. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on IFF. Morgan Stanley upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $111.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.00.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.75, for a total transaction of $458,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $297,086.50. This trade represents a 60.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE IFF opened at $87.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.94 and a fifty-two week high of $106.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $95.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.60. The stock has a market cap of $22.35 billion, a PE ratio of -9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.17.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.46). International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 20.33% and a positive return on equity of 7.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. International Flavors & Fragrances’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -17.60%.

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.