Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 150,891 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 103.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 296,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 150,891 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.12% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $25,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,467,517 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,102,363,000 after buying an additional 196,696 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,008,830 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $628,341,000 after acquiring an additional 77,521 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,663,629 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,121,414 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,879,317 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $158,896,000 after purchasing an additional 17,372 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, Director Kevin O'byrne bought 6,500 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on IFF shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective 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. Cfra cut shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $77.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Argus upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.50.

Remove Ads

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of IFF opened at $79.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The business's fifty day moving average is $83.64 and its 200 day moving average is $91.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.91 and a 12-month high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.67 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is currently 170.21%.

International Flavors & Fragrances 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IFF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.