Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 79.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 49,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 22,026 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $5,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter worth $27,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter worth about $48,000. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.75, for a total transaction of $458,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,086.50. This represents a 60.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IFF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $107.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $111.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $109.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.27.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $90.88 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $99.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.33. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.94 and a fifty-two week high of $106.77. The firm has a market cap of $23.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.46). International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 20.33% and a positive return on equity of 7.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. International Flavors & Fragrances’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is presently -17.60%.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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.