Bank & Trust Co Buys Shares of 551 International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 551 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,566 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 70,153 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,680,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth $380,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter worth about $346,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 59,947 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,854,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. 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. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.33.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, insider Angela Strzelecki sold 2,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.66, for a total transaction of $247,568.08. Following the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE IFF traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $96.48. 2,019,419 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,840,679. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.72. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.11 and a 1-year high of $101.89. The company has a market cap of $24.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 22.01% and a positive return on equity of 5.78%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

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

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.