International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 66.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,664 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 19,506 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 638 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on IFF shares. Argus upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Cfra downgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $111.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.50.

Insider Activity

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Kevin O’byrne bought 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $522,860. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:IFF opened at $80.41 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.64 and a 52-week high of $106.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.12. The company has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is currently 170.21%.

International Flavors & Fragrances 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.