Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 2,677 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,887 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,677 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.07% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $15,040,000 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. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,663,629 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,489,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $464,926,000 after buying an additional 1,121,414 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 926,873 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $78,367,000 after buying an additional 218,792 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,467,517 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,102,363,000 after acquiring an additional 196,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at $16,037,000. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:IFF opened at $76.41 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $82.56 and its 200-day moving average is $89.97. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.38 and a 1 year high of $106.77. The company has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.93.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.14. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 2.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. Equities research analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is currently 170.21%.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, Director Kevin O’byrne purchased 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on IFF. Cfra downgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Argus upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.31.

International Flavors & Fragrances Profile

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.