Mizuho Securities USA LLC Boosts Stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 46.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 24,233 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 7,655 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $2,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 114,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,654,000 after purchasing an additional 11,406 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 24,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,055,000 after buying an additional 8,728 shares in the last quarter. Covea Finance grew its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 79.0% during the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 123,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,407,000 after acquiring an additional 54,340 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,508,000. Finally, S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 372.9% in the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 63,104 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,335,000 after acquiring an additional 49,761 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Kevin O’byrne acquired 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $522,860. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on IFF. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Finally, Cfra cut shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of IFF opened at $77.58 on Tuesday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.05 and a 1-year high of $106.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.53, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 2.12%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is currently 170.21%.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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.