Walnut Level Capital LLC Makes New $559,000 Investment in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Walnut Level Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,614 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $559,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 638 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on IFF. Bank of America lowered their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Argus upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kevin O’byrne purchased 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $522,860. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE:IFF opened at $77.93 on Monday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $83.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.70. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.46 and a 52 week high of $106.77. The company has a market cap of $19.93 billion, a PE ratio of 82.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 170.21%.

International Flavors & Fragrances Profile

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.