Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 22,026 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 79.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,026 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $5,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 412,266 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $35,451,000 after acquiring an additional 3,786 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the first quarter valued at $649,000. Wahed Invest LLC raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 12.7% in the first quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 4,912 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 1st quarter worth about $531,000. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 1st quarter worth about $19,945,000. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances 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 directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $297,086.50. This trade represents a 60.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $90.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $99.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 2.62. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.94 and a 52-week high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.46). The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is presently -17.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on IFF shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $111.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $109.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $107.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.27.

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.