California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 20,260 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 433,071 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 20,260 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.17% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $36,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allianz SE purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,029,000. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth approximately $642,000. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 72.2% during the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 635,598 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $53,740,000 after acquiring an additional 266,392 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 77,347 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,540,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth $452,363,000. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup cut their target price on 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kevin O’byrne acquired 6,500 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $522,860. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

NYSE IFF opened at $78.66 on Thursday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.73 and a 12-month high of $106.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.35.

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 net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. Analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. 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.