UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Purchases 6,942 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 31.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 29,027 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 6,942 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $2,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IFF. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,218,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,554,996,000 after acquiring an additional 164,945 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,467,517 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,102,363,000 after purchasing an additional 196,696 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,008,830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $628,341,000 after purchasing an additional 77,521 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% in the 4th 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. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.7% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Kevin O’byrne purchased 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on IFF shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Cfra lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Argus raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.31.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE IFF opened at $76.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a PE ratio of 81.28, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.38 and a 12 month high of $106.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.56 and a 200-day moving average of $89.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is 170.21%.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company 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.