Westpac Banking Corp Increases Stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Westpac Banking Corp raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 1,083.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,819 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 42,864 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $3,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in IFF. Norges Bank bought a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at about $452,363,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in 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 worth $478,912,000 after buying an additional 1,663,629 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised 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 last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS grew its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 72.2% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 635,598 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $53,740,000 after purchasing an additional 266,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 926,873 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $78,367,000 after acquiring an additional 218,792 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Argus upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Kevin O'byrne acquired 6,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $522,860. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock traded down $0.63 on Tuesday, hitting $70.08. 1,286,330 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,491,833. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.53 and a 12-month high of $106.77. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $81.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.61. The company has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.34, a P/E/G 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 (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. Analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.