Westpac Banking Corp Sells 16,780 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Westpac Banking Corp decreased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 22.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,924 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 16,780 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $4,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of IFF. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 26.7% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 3,298 shares in the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 224,147 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $17,839,000 after purchasing an additional 17,493 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 7.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 19,369 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 92.3% during the second quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 15,784 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after buying an additional 7,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,320,402 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $105,091,000 after acquiring an additional 17,788 shares during the period. 89.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on IFF. Barclays dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. Credit Suisse Group reduced their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 10th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.27.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

NYSE:IFF traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $74.16. 316,985 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,151,031. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a PE ratio of 411.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 1.16. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.11 and a twelve month high of $118.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $67.89 and its 200-day moving average is $74.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.14. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 0.40% and a return on equity of 5.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 28th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 27th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is 1,800.00%.

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.