Loudon Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Loudon Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 47.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,937 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,420 shares during the period. Loudon Investment Management LLC’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IFF. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at $79,812,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 139.3% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 1,372,685 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $111,146,000 after buying an additional 798,946 shares during the period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 344.5% in the first quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 847,504 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $72,877,000 after buying an additional 656,820 shares in the last quarter. Clearfield Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,771,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 7.8% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on IFF shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $103.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America lifted their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $109.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.80.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, insider Angela Strzelecki sold 2,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.66, for a total value of $247,568.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,539 shares in the company, valued at $816,840.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFF traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $103.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,498,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,770,746. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.28 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.54, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.78. 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 (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -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.