Empirical Finance LLC Sells 492 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Empirical Finance LLC trimmed its position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 6.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,441 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 492 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth about $380,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 8,682 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,660 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 1,768 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 126,027 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $10,204,000 after acquiring an additional 28,114 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $103.99 on Friday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.28 and a 12 month high of $104.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $97.61 and its 200-day moving average is $91.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $26.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.64, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.26.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 5.78% and a negative net margin of 22.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the insider now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $816,840.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IFF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $116.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.80.

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.