Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Acquires 117,098 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 510.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 140,038 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 117,098 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned approximately 0.05% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $11,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,434,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $359,045,000 after acquiring an additional 507,193 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 3,980,310 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $322,286,000 after purchasing an additional 87,183 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 6.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,119,754 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $212,674,000 after purchasing an additional 179,894 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,375,699 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $192,360,000 after buying an additional 33,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,009,667 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $136,999,000 after buying an additional 318,517 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on IFF shares. Argus downgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $116.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Angela Strzelecki sold 2,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.66, for a total value of $247,568.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $816,840.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of IFF stock traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $94.54. 1,569,220 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,382,346. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.11 and a 52-week high of $99.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.26.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.27. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 22.01% and a positive return on equity of 5.78%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. International Flavors & Fragrances’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.38%.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cosmetic active and natural health ingredients for use in various consumer products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent, and Pharma Solutions.