79,004 Shares in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF Bought by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 79,004 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,259,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,835,955,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,092,368 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $751,875,000 after buying an additional 121,260 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,831,668 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $595,166,000 after buying an additional 1,904,598 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,519,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $506,760,000 after acquiring an additional 352,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,771,894 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $454,607,000 after acquiring an additional 172,781 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $85.00 to $95.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $84.80 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.40.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, CAO Marc Birenkrant sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $85,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,446 shares in the company, valued at $292,910. This represents a 22.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael Deveau sold 8,825 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.55, for a total value of $754,978.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,199 shares in the company, valued at $444,774.45. The trade was a 62.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 15,543 shares of company stock worth $1,315,659 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of IFF stock opened at $85.86 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.72. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.14 and a 1-year high of $89.32. The firm has a market cap of $21.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.77, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.94.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.25). International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. International Flavors & Fragrances’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is currently 146.79%.

International Flavors & Fragrances announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 4th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 12.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.