Nomura Holdings Inc. Acquires 798,946 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 139.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,372,685 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 798,946 shares during the quarter. International Flavors & Fragrances comprises about 0.3% of Nomura Holdings Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Nomura Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $111,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IFF. Cohen Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth about $226,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,414,582 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $114,539,000 after buying an additional 51,143 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $949,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 93.6% in the 4th quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 85,140 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,894,000 after buying an additional 41,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth approximately $922,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IFF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.41.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

IFF traded down $1.96 on Wednesday, reaching $95.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,038,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,083,493. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.11 and a 1 year high of $99.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.50 billion, a PE ratio of -9.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $87.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.51.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 5.78% and a negative net margin of 22.01%. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is currently -16.38%.

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 the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent, and Pharma Solutions.