Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Boosts Stock Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 73.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,779 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 15,138 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $3,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 638 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IFF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $76.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Mizuho cut their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Bank of America dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" 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, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, Director Kevin O'byrne purchased 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $522,860. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of IFF stock traded up $2.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $73.33. 3,005,265 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,530,828. 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's 50 day moving average is $78.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.35. The company has a market cap of $18.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.85 and a 1 year high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. International Flavors & Fragrances's payout ratio is currently 170.21%.

International Flavors & Fragrances 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.