Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $14.15 Million Stock Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 17.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 164,587 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,549 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $14,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cohen Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth $226,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth $9,316,000. Clearfield Capital Management LP acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth $28,771,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,733,402 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $140,355,000 after buying an additional 280,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 68,751 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,567,000 after buying an additional 2,514 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IFF traded down $2.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $96.14. 1,876,329 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,079,755. The company has a market cap of $24.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.84, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.68. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.11 and a twelve month high of $101.89.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is -16.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on IFF. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.33.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, insider Angela Strzelecki sold 2,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $816,840.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.