Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 124 shares during the quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IFF. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth about $79,812,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 139.3% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 1,372,685 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $111,146,000 after purchasing an additional 798,946 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,434,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $359,045,000 after purchasing an additional 507,193 shares in the last quarter. Clearfield Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,771,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,733,402 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $140,355,000 after purchasing an additional 280,069 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Angela Strzelecki sold 2,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.66, for a total transaction of $247,568.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $816,840.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of IFF traded up $1.74 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $101.30. The company had a trading volume of 197,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,836,998. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.05. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.11 and a 52-week high of $101.89.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.27. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 5.78% and a negative net margin of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. International Flavors & Fragrances’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 21st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is currently -16.38%.

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.