Weiss Asset Management LP Makes New $6.94 Million Investment in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF – Get Rating) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 76,375 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,937,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. Fairfield Bush & CO. grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,380 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,844 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,792 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,684 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on IFF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $139.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $132.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Mizuho decreased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $119.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $96.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.31.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

NYSE IFF opened at $82.76 on Friday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.53 and a fifty-two week high of $135.17. The stock has a market cap of $21.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $102.04 and a 200-day moving average of $101.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.46% and a negative net margin of 14.81%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 24th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 23rd. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -44.88%.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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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.