International Flavors & Fragrances Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:IFF)

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 3,976 call options on the company. This is an increase of 589% compared to the average daily volume of 577 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Kevin O’byrne bought 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Cfra lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.31.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of IFF stock opened at $78.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.93. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 1-year low of $75.73 and a 1-year high of $106.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $82.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.12 billion, a PE ratio of 83.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

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