Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 3,387 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Shell Asset Management Co. lessened its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 40.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,890 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,387 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,778,678 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $410,919,000 after buying an additional 344,377 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 3,980,310 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $322,286,000 after purchasing an additional 87,183 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,375,699 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $192,360,000 after purchasing an additional 33,548 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,733,402 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $140,355,000 after purchasing an additional 280,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,414,582 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $114,539,000 after buying an additional 51,143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on IFF. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.33.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 1.7 %

IFF opened at $98.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $96.45 and a 200-day moving average of $87.83. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.11 and a fifty-two week high of $99.91. The company has a market capitalization of $25.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.26.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.27. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 22.01% and a positive return on equity of 5.78%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 21st were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is presently -16.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Angela Strzelecki sold 2,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.66, for a total value of $247,568.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $816,840.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances 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.