California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 20,260 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 433,071 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 20,260 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.17% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $36,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth $452,363,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% during the 4th 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 period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $464,926,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121,414 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in 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 valued at $53,740,000 after acquiring an additional 266,392 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 30.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, Director Kevin O'byrne bought 6,500 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock traded down $2.33 during trading on Monday, hitting $70.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,088,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,492,391. The stock has a market cap of $18.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.53 and a 52 week high of $106.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.93.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. 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 company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is currently 170.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on IFF shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 research report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.