Norges Bank Invests $452.36 Million in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,350,246 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,363,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IFF. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 12.3% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 12,102 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 75.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $576,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter worth $88,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 85.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 364,577 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,255,000 after buying an additional 167,698 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, Director Kevin O’byrne acquired 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $522,860. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on IFF. Barclays decreased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Cfra cut International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Argus raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.31.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFF opened at $76.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.38 and a 1-year high of $106.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.93.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. Research analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.