Legal & General Group Plc Sells 402,027 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,568,154 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 402,027 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.61% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $132,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,595,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $219,417,000 after buying an additional 433,048 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 84.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 389,819 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,959,000 after acquiring an additional 178,664 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,097,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,453,000. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,561 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $106.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Bank of America cut 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 report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.69.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, Director Kevin O'byrne acquired 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $522,860. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE IFF traded down $0.79 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.69. 660,974 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,514,250. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.10. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.85 and a 12 month high of $106.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $18.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.32, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances's payout ratio is 170.21%.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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.