Financial Counselors Inc. Cuts Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Financial Counselors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 11.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,827 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,848 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $2,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of IFF. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth $79,812,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 139.3% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 1,372,685 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $111,146,000 after acquiring an additional 798,946 shares during the period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 344.5% during the first quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 847,504 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $72,877,000 after acquiring an additional 656,820 shares during the period. Clearfield Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth $28,771,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 7.8% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,778,678 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $410,919,000 after acquiring an additional 344,377 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IFF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $109.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer started coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $116.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, insider Angela Strzelecki sold 2,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.66, for a total transaction of $247,568.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $816,840.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFF opened at $103.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.38. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a one year low of $62.28 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.60, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.26.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.15. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 6.63% and a negative net margin of 20.82%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.21 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is -16.38%.

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.