South Dakota Investment Council Lowers Stock Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $7,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of IFF. Winder Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the third quarter worth approximately $1,728,544,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 16.3% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,672,776 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $388,358,000 after buying an additional 795,797 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 34.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,927,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $267,711,000 after acquiring an additional 996,629 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 15.8% during the third quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 3,893,127 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $265,394,000 after acquiring an additional 530,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 6.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,119,754 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $212,674,000 after acquiring an additional 179,894 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

International Flavors & Fragrances stock traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $84.98. 642,985 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,129,731. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.11 and a 52-week high of $97.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $81.81 and its 200 day moving average is $77.83.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 22.36% and a positive return on equity of 5.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -15.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $73.00 to $112.00 in a report on Friday, January 12th. Citigroup upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $81.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.35.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company 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.