International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Shares Bought by Covea Finance

Covea Finance lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 79.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 54,340 shares during the quarter. Covea Finance's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $10,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the second quarter valued at about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

IFF traded up $0.53 on Wednesday, hitting $84.20. 1,447,468 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,522,652. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.94 and a fifty-two week high of $106.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 2.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.18. The business's fifty day moving average is $87.15 and its 200 day moving average is $95.74.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.46). The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.16% and a negative net margin of 20.33%. The business's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.60%.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.75, for a total transaction of $458,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $297,086.50. This represents a 60.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on IFF shares. Vertical Research raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $107.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.08.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cosmetic active and natural health ingredients for use in various consumer products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent, and Pharma Solutions.