Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 470,676 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 9,555 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $49,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the third quarter worth $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1,856.0% in the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 489 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on IFF shares. Vertical Research raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $93.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $111.00 to $110.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.75, for a total transaction of $458,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $297,086.50. The trade was a 60.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 0.2 %

IFF stock opened at $85.74 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.92 billion, a PE ratio of -9.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.17. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.94 and a 52 week high of $106.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $93.60 and a 200 day moving average of $97.27.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.46). International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.16% and a negative net margin of 20.33%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is -17.60%.

International Flavors & Fragrances 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.