Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Decreases Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,501,896 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 151,836 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.76% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $380,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,218,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,554,996,000 after buying an additional 164,945 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,467,517 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,102,363,000 after buying an additional 196,696 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,166,778 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $520,032,000 after acquiring an additional 157,948 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,664,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $478,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,489,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $464,926,000 after buying an additional 1,121,414 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kevin O'byrne bought 6,500 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

NYSE IFF traded down $2.74 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $70.39. The stock had a trading volume of 826,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,483,746. The firm's 50 day moving average is $81.66 and its 200 day moving average is $88.84. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $18.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.62, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.68 and a twelve month high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 2.12%. Equities research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances's payout ratio is currently 170.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IFF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on 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. Cfra downgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $77.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. 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 note on Thursday, February 20th. Argus upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.31.

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.