International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.40 (NYSE:IFF)

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 30th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be given a dividend of 0.40 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th.

International Flavors & Fragrances has raised its dividend by an average of 2.2% per year over the last three years. International Flavors & Fragrances has a payout ratio of 36.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect International Flavors & Fragrances to earn $4.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.4%.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

IFF opened at $99.48 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.30. 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 has a 1 year low of $62.11 and a 1 year high of $101.89.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Angela Strzelecki sold 2,588 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $816,840.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IFF has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $116.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $75.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.33.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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.