Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,434,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 507,193 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $359,045,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Winder Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the third quarter valued at $1,728,544,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,672,776 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $388,358,000 after purchasing an additional 795,797 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 15.8% during the third quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 3,893,127 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $265,394,000 after buying an additional 530,595 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 6.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,119,754 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $212,674,000 after buying an additional 179,894 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,020,749 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $137,754,000 after acquiring an additional 12,601 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE IFF traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $85.76. 1,702,655 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,105,643. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.11 and a 52-week high of $97.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $82.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.90 billion, a PE ratio of -8.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.23.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 5.09% and a negative net margin of 22.36%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is currently -15.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IFF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wolfe Research started coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Finally, Argus cut International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.35.

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.