Wells Fargo & Company MN Trims Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lessened its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 316,279 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 54,867 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.12% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $26,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of IFF. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,218,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,554,996,000 after purchasing an additional 164,945 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.6% in the 4th 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 during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,489,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $464,926,000 after buying an additional 1,121,414 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter worth about $452,363,000. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on IFF shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $99.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays cut their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $76.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Cfra downgraded 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. Finally, Argus raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kevin O'byrne purchased 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFF traded down $0.95 on Tuesday, hitting $72.54. 1,076,231 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,515,672. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.85 and a 1-year high of $106.77. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $79.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.10.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 170.21%.

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.