Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Purchases 156,925 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 51.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 464,697 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 156,925 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned about 0.18% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $39,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter worth approximately $452,363,000. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 31,437,763 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,658,063,000 after purchasing an additional 3,355,381 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,664,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $478,912,000 after buying an additional 1,663,629 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,407,262 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $288,084,000 after acquiring an additional 565,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Albar Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,329,000. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Kevin O’byrne bought 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $522,860. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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. Bank of America cut 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 note on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $106.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.38.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFF opened at $73.69 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.65 and its 200 day moving average is $84.10. 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 company has a market cap of $18.85 billion, a PE ratio of 78.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.08. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.85 and a twelve month high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.08. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 2.12%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is 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.