Allianz SE Purchases New Stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Allianz SE acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,251 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter worth $452,363,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,664,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $478,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663,629 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings 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 valued at $464,926,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121,414 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 72.2% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 635,598 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $53,740,000 after purchasing an additional 266,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in 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 worth $78,367,000 after purchasing an additional 218,792 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IFF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Argus upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.31.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

NYSE:IFF traded down $3.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $73.01. 2,726,543 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,483,426. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.05. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.41 and a 1 year high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. Analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is currently 170.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kevin O'byrne purchased 6,500 shares of the firm'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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $522,860. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.