International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $110.21.

Several brokerages have weighed in on IFF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Vertical Research raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $111.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $109.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.75, for a total value of $458,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $297,086.50. This represents a 60.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Albar Capital Ltd boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 73.5% in the second quarter. Albar Capital Ltd now owns 1,146,234 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $109,133,000 after buying an additional 485,433 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 70.9% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 708,081 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $74,299,000 after purchasing an additional 293,760 shares in the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter valued at $22,399,000. Point72 Europe London LLP raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 627,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $59,736,000 after purchasing an additional 209,098 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,467,517 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,102,363,000 after purchasing an additional 196,696 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $84.79 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $21.68 billion, a PE ratio of -9.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.17. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 1 year low of $72.94 and a 1 year high of $106.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $93.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.26.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.46). The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.16% and a negative net margin of 20.33%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is -17.60%.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

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.