Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 101.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,156 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 42,978 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $7,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 114,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $9,654,000 after buying an additional 11,406 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 24,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 8,728 shares during the last quarter. Covea Finance increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 79.0% in the 4th quarter. Covea Finance now owns 123,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $10,407,000 after purchasing an additional 54,340 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter valued at $7,508,000. Finally, S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 372.9% during the fourth quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 63,104 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,335,000 after buying an additional 49,761 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $106.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $99.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.23.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFF traded down $0.41 on Tuesday, reaching $73.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 247,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,512,518. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 1.84. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.85 and a 52-week high of $106.77. The company has a market cap of $18.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.75, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. International Flavors & Fragrances's payout ratio is 170.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related 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, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $522,860. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% 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.