Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 6,996 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 80,879 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 6,996 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $6,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth about $6,453,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1,083.8% in the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 46,819 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,959,000 after purchasing an additional 42,864 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,314 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,166,778 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $520,032,000 after buying an additional 157,948 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on IFF shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Argus upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Cfra lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $77.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of 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. One investment 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.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.69.

Insider Activity

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Kevin O'byrne acquired 6,500 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of IFF traded down $0.95 on Tuesday, reaching $72.54. The stock had a trading volume of 1,076,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,516,781. 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 12-month low of $65.85 and a 12-month high of $106.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.00.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.14. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is presently 170.21%.

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.