First Hawaiian Bank Acquires 3,202 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

First Hawaiian Bank lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 27,330 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,202 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $2,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.2% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 615,006 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $64,533,000 after acquiring an additional 7,553 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 2nd quarter worth $868,000. GM Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 2nd quarter valued at $686,000. Appian Way Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 2nd quarter worth $2,990,000. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter worth $2,369,000. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:IFF opened at $82.05 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.94 and a twelve month high of $106.77. The company has a market cap of $20.98 billion, a PE ratio of -9.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $88.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.12.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is presently -17.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on IFF. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $107.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group lifted 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. Oppenheimer increased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $111.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.21.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.75, for a total transaction of $458,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $297,086.50. This trade represents a 60.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.