Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Takes $468,000 Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 21,721 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,464,000 after buying an additional 5,901 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,249 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,162,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 116.0% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 59,158 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,987,000 after buying an additional 31,764 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 188.3% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 37,828 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after buying an additional 24,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1,971.2% in the 4th quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 210,123 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $14,160,000 after buying an additional 199,978 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IFF has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark initiated coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $97.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $75.00 to $86.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $84.80 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold 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 $91.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 260,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $74.28 per share, with a total value of $19,312,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,682,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,273,184.40. This represents a 10.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 0.7%

IFF opened at $77.82 on Wednesday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.14 and a fifty-two week high of $84.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $19.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.35 and a 200-day moving average of $72.49.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.17. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 7.78%.The company had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.93%.

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.