American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 77.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,054 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,711 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $7,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 24,233 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,049,000 after buying an additional 7,655 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,094,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth $330,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 109,954 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $9,297,000 after purchasing an additional 4,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GM Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,750 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

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International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of IFF stock traded down $3.96 on Tuesday, hitting $66.75. The company had a trading volume of 3,285,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,498,179. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $80.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.21. 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 firm has a market cap of $17.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.85 and a twelve month high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.14. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.67 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given 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 2.40%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 170.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IFF. Cfra downgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $77.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $99.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. 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, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.69.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Kevin O'byrne purchased 6,500 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $522,860. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.