Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 434 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 195,342 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the quarter. International Flavors & Fragrances comprises about 2.4% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $16,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of IFF. State Street Corp raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,467,517 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,102,363,000 after acquiring an additional 196,696 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,008,830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $628,341,000 after acquiring an additional 77,521 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,664,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $478,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663,629 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,489,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $464,926,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121,414 shares during the period. Finally, First Pacific Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 4,029,773 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $340,717,000 after purchasing an additional 22,991 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kevin O’byrne bought 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IFF has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.50.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

NYSE:IFF opened at $80.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.62 billion, a PE ratio of 85.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.91 and a 12 month high of $106.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.13.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is presently 170.21%.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B’s Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B’s Health & Biosciences division.