Swiss National Bank Decreases Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 722,299 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 35,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.28% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $61,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IFF. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter worth $42,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 638 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kevin O'byrne bought 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $522,860. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IFF traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $80.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,352,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,664,398. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a PE ratio of 85.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. 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 fifty day moving average of $83.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.21. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.91 and a 52 week high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is currently 170.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IFF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Cfra lowered International Flavors & Fragrances from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $77.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Argus raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.50.

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.