Phoenix Financial Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 57.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 369,378 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 503,106 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. owned approximately 0.14% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $31,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IFF. Norges Bank bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth approximately $452,363,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,663,629 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised 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 during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 102.6% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 653,589 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $55,261,000 after acquiring an additional 330,981 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on IFF shares. Citigroup lowered their target price 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, April 8th. Cfra cut shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $77.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Argus upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin O'byrne acquired 6,500 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $522,860. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

IFF traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $72.64. The stock had a trading volume of 421,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,513,159. The stock has a market cap of $18.58 billion, a PE ratio of 77.28, 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $79.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.10.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st were paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.