St. James Investment Company LLC Sells 4,887 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

St. James Investment Company LLC lessened its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 154,111 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,887 shares during the period. International Flavors & Fragrances accounts for 2.3% of St. James Investment Company LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. St. James Investment Company LLC owned 0.06% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $13,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IFF. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 12.3% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 12,102 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,820 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,975,000 after purchasing an additional 8,089 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 146,017 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $15,322,000 after purchasing an additional 17,369 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 26.9% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 116,794 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $12,255,000 after buying an additional 24,747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

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International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 1.7 %

IFF stock traded down $1.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $75.13. 1,226,234 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,476,294. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $81.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.26. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a one year low of $74.05 and a one year high of $106.77. The company has a market cap of $19.21 billion, a PE ratio of 79.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. Research analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. International Flavors & Fragrances's payout ratio is presently 170.21%.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Kevin O'byrne acquired 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $522,860. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer dropped 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. Cfra lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Argus upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.