Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF)

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 21,766 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 2,617% compared to the typical daily volume of 801 call options.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of IFF stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $103.67. 167,482 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,728,135. The business’s fifty day moving average is $99.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 1.75. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 12-month low of $62.28 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.22.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its earnings results 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 negative net margin of 20.82% and a positive return on equity of 6.63%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Mizuho upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $109.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $103.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.87.

Institutional Trading of International Flavors & Fragrances

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 5.0% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.5% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 27,696 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,381,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 18.1% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 863 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,679 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Pflug Koory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.4% during the first quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 6,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.