Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 1,663,629 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 41.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,664,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,663,629 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $478,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of IFF opened at $84.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $85.38 and a 200-day moving average of $94.12. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a one year low of $72.94 and a one year high of $106.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $111.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $107.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B’s Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B’s Health & Biosciences division.