Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Sells 13,605 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lowered its position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 80.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,232 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 13,605 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.5% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 27,696 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,381,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,679 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Pflug Koory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 6,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 901 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Angela Strzelecki sold 2,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.66, for a total value of $247,568.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $816,840.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFF opened at $98.08 on Thursday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a one year low of $62.11 and a one year high of $99.91. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $96.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.04, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.27. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 5.78% and a negative net margin of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 21st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is currently -16.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on IFF. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $75.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.33.

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.