DnB Asset Management AS Trims Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

DnB Asset Management AS reduced its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 386,890 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,779 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS owned about 0.15% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $30,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IFF. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 1st quarter worth about $953,000. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,418,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 146,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,312,000 after acquiring an additional 5,961 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 42.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,903,532 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $175,049,000 after purchasing an additional 568,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 304,954 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,696 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $128.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho reduced their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $106.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.57.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

IFF stock traded up $1.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $68.72. The stock had a trading volume of 246,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,127,943. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.11 and a 52-week high of $118.34. The company has a market cap of $17.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 5.91% and a negative net margin of 18.34%. The business’s revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.3 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, October 5th. Investors of record on Friday, September 22nd will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 21st. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is presently -37.94%.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cosmetic active and natural health ingredients for use in various consumer products in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Greater Asia, North America, and Latin America. It operates through four segments: Nourish, Scent, Health & Biosciences, and Pharma Solutions.