Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Purchases 67,588 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 690,737 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 67,588 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.27% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $57,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IFF. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,835,955,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 2nd quarter valued at $223,065,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 2nd quarter valued at $131,760,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,809,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $131,222,000 after purchasing an additional 147,896 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 2nd quarter worth $122,792,000. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on IFF. Zacks Research raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Vertical Research downgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $93.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Benchmark raised their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.05.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $84.44 on Tuesday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.72 and a 12-month high of $95.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The company has a market capitalization of $21.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $87.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.05.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.02. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 1.97% and a return on equity of 6.82%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, December 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 18th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 225.35%.

International Flavors & Fragrances announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 4th that authorizes the company to buy back $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 12.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, insider De Mendonca Ana Paula Teles sold 5,718 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.19, for a total value of $475,680.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE: IFF) develops ingredients and solutions used by manufacturers in food and beverages, fragrances, personal care, home care, health and wellness, and other consumer products. Its offerings include flavors, fragrance compounds, enzymes, cultures, probiotics, and specialty food ingredients.

The company works with customers to create and improve products, including by enhancing taste and scent, supporting product performance, and developing ingredients for nutrition and wellness applications.