National Pension Service Has $2.91 Million Stock Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

National Pension Service lowered its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 39.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 36,786 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 24,017 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $2,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 5.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 26,315 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,042,000 after buying an additional 1,335 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,976 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 71.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,454 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $811,000 after acquiring an additional 4,358 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,527 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 55.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 587 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael Deveau sold 8,825 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.55, for a total transaction of $754,978.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $444,774.45. This trade represents a 62.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider De Mendonca Ana Paula Teles sold 5,718 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.19, for a total value of $475,680.42. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 15,543 shares of company stock valued at $1,315,659 over the last three months. 1.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $96.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Vertical Research lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $93.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.40.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 0.1%

IFF opened at $83.67 on Monday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.14 and a 1-year high of $89.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $82.05 and a 200-day moving average of $77.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 7.11%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 4th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 12.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 18th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.79%.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) develops and manufactures ingredients, flavor systems, fragrances and related solutions used in consumer and industrial products. Its offerings help customers create or enhance the taste, aroma, texture, appearance and performance of products across the food, beverage, personal care, home care, health and pharmaceutical markets.

IFF’s business includes natural and synthetic flavor compounds, fragrance ingredients and compositions, cosmetic and personal-care ingredients, specialty food ingredients, enzymes, cultures, probiotics and other bioscience-based solutions.