6,458 International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF Shares Bought by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,444,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,458 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $120,590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of IFF. Korea Investment CORP acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the second quarter valued at $3,170,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 784,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $56,921,000 after buying an additional 218,420 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the second quarter worth $3,203,000. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,481,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the first quarter worth approximately $950,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, EVP Michael Deveau sold 8,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.55, for a total value of $754,978.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,199 shares in the company, valued at $444,774.45. The trade was a 62.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marc Birenkrant sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $85,000.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 15,543 shares of company stock worth $1,315,659 in the last quarter. 1.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IFF has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Vertical Research lowered International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $93.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.69.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $89.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $84.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.97. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.29 and a 52-week high of $89.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.91.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 146.79%.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) develops and manufactures ingredients and solutions used in food, beverages, personal care products, fragrances, household products, pharmaceuticals and other consumer goods. The company works with manufacturers to create flavors, fragrances, functional ingredients and sensory experiences for products sold under consumer brands.

IFF’s portfolio includes natural and synthetic flavor compounds, fragrance ingredients, specialty ingredients, food texturants, enzymes, cultures, probiotics and pharmaceutical excipients.