The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Stock Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 150,993 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,593 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $15,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. Burney Co. purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 69.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,751 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,880,000 after purchasing an additional 23,278 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 1st quarter valued at $693,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 63,004 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,370,000 after buying an additional 4,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 863 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IFF opened at $91.36 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.16. The stock has a market cap of $23.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.94 and a fifty-two week high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.16 EPS 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is presently -17.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IFF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $111.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Mizuho raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $109.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Bank of America raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $107.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.75, for a total value of $458,750.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.