Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,679 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $806,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 8.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 37,233 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,855 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,304,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 21,484 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,254,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.1% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,095 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $297,086.50. This represents a 60.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

NYSE:IFF opened at $90.81 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $99.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.22. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.94 and a 12-month high of $106.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is currently -17.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IFF. Mizuho upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $109.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $93.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley raised International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $111.00 to $110.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.27.

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.