Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Reduces Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC cut its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 154,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,341 shares during the quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned approximately 0.06% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $13,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allianz SE acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth $1,029,000. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at about $642,000. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 72.2% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 635,598 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $53,740,000 after purchasing an additional 266,392 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 77,347 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,540,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $452,363,000. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on IFF. Bank of America cut their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. Argus raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Cfra downgraded shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.31.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $76.41 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 1.84. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a one year low of $76.38 and a one year high of $106.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $82.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a PE ratio of 81.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Kevin O’byrne bought 6,500 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $522,860. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.