Alliancebernstein L.P. Acquires 55,092 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 576,058 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 55,092 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.23% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $48,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Allianz SE bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth $1,029,000. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth $642,000. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 72.2% during the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 635,598 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $53,740,000 after buying an additional 266,392 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 77,347 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,540,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth about $452,363,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Argus raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Cfra cut International Flavors & Fragrances from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $77.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America dropped 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 research note on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.46.

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International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 3.9 %

International Flavors & Fragrances stock traded down $2.85 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $70.13. 696,204 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,507,549. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.85 and a 52-week high of $106.77. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $79.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 2.12%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. On average, research analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. International Flavors & Fragrances's payout ratio is 170.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kevin O'byrne acquired 6,500 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company 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.