Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $380.64 Million Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,501,896 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 151,836 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.76% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $380,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 1.6 %

IFF stock opened at $78.66 on Thursday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.73 and a 1-year high of $106.77. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.12 billion, a PE ratio of 83.68, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IFF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cfra cut International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Argus raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.