International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Shares Sold by Varenne Capital Partners

Varenne Capital Partners lessened its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 82.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 77,388 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 373,267 shares during the quarter. International Flavors & Fragrances accounts for approximately 1.9% of Varenne Capital Partners’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Varenne Capital Partners’ holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $6,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth $452,363,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,664,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $478,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663,629 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,489,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $464,926,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121,414 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 635,598 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $53,740,000 after buying an additional 266,392 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 926,873 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $78,367,000 after buying an additional 218,792 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, Director Kevin O’byrne purchased 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $522,860. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE IFF opened at $76.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 1.84. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a one year low of $76.38 and a one year high of $106.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a PE ratio of 81.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 170.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup lowered their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One investment 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.31.

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.