Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 2,026,594 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 37.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,320,029 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,026,594 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $204,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IFF. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. now owns 215,555 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,265,000 after acquiring an additional 87,330 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,552,069 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $95,533,000 after purchasing an additional 69,881 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 14,406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $887,000 after buying an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 39.1% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 150,881 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,273,000 after buying an additional 42,443 shares during the period. Finally, Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter valued at approximately $463,000. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on IFF. Oppenheimer raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $97.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $71.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.09.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

IFF opened at $73.02 on Tuesday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1 year low of $59.14 and a 1 year high of $84.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $18.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $74.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.11.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.05). International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 3.20% and a positive return on equity of 7.67%. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share 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 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is -116.79%.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) is a global leader in the creation and production of flavors, fragrances, cosmetic actives and nutritional lipids. The company develops taste and scent solutions for a wide array of end markets including food and beverage, personal care, household goods and pharmaceutical products. Its portfolio spans natural and nature-identical flavors, fine fragrances, functional ingredients for skin and hair care, and specialty oils that enhance nutritional value and sensory appeal.

IFF’s research and development network comprises innovation centers in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, where multidisciplinary teams collaborate on aroma chemistry, sensory science and biotechnology.