Schroder Investment Management Group Sells 96,535 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Schroder Investment Management Group lowered its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 74.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,635 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 96,535 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $2,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth $452,363,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,664,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $478,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663,629 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,489,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $464,926,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121,414 shares during the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $53,740,000 after purchasing an additional 266,392 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 30.9% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company's stock.

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International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of IFF traded up $1.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $73.24. The company had a trading volume of 2,125,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,515,471. The company's 50-day moving average is $79.41 and its 200-day moving average is $87.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The company has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.92, a P/E/G 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.67 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is 170.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IFF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reduced 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $106.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.69.

Insider Activity

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Kevin O'byrne purchased 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $522,860. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.