International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Receives $103.31 Average PT from Analysts

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $103.31.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Argus upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

NYSE:IFF opened at $78.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.12 billion, a PE ratio of 83.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 52 week low of $75.73 and a 52 week high of $106.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $82.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.35.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.14. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 2.12%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is presently 170.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin O’byrne acquired 6,500 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $522,860. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 12.3% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 12,102 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,820 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,975,000 after buying an additional 8,089 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter worth about $576,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter valued at about $88,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 85.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 364,577 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,255,000 after acquiring an additional 167,698 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.