Stock Traders Buy High Volume of International Flavors & Fragrances Call Options (NYSE:IFF)

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 3,976 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 589% compared to the average volume of 577 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on IFF shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Cfra lowered International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Argus upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kevin O’byrne bought 6,500 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Flavors & Fragrances

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IFF. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the third quarter worth $42,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 638 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 1.6 %

International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $78.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.12 billion, a PE ratio of 83.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.35. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 12 month low of $75.73 and a 12 month high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. On average, analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 170.21%.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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.