International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Shares Purchased by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,738 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 638 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kevin O’byrne purchased 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $522,860. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $78.25 on Friday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a one year low of $75.63 and a one year high of $106.77. The company has a market cap of $20.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.24, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $82.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.16.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is presently 170.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price target 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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 research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.31.

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.