Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 6,745 International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 6,745 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $534,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 131.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,167,176 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $441,068,000 after purchasing an additional 4,069,075 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter worth $211,703,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1,842.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,491,606 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $183,264,000 after buying an additional 2,363,307 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,831,668 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $595,166,000 after buying an additional 1,904,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter valued at $113,284,000. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $96.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $74.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Marc Birenkrant sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $85,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,910. This represents a 22.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider De Mendonca Ana Paula Teles sold 5,718 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.19, for a total value of $475,680.42. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,543 shares of company stock valued at $1,315,659. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $83.23 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.24 billion, a PE ratio of 76.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.14. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a one year low of $59.14 and a one year high of $89.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.06.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 18th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is currently 146.79%.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) is a global leader in the creation and production of flavors, fragrances, cosmetic actives and nutritional lipids. The company develops taste and scent solutions for a wide array of end markets including food and beverage, personal care, household goods and pharmaceutical products. Its portfolio spans natural and nature-identical flavors, fine fragrances, functional ingredients for skin and hair care, and specialty oils that enhance nutritional value and sensory appeal.

IFF’s research and development network comprises innovation centers in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, where multidisciplinary teams collaborate on aroma chemistry, sensory science and biotechnology.