Bank of America Corp DE Decreases Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Bank of America Corp DE cut its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 35.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 918,476 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 496,276 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.36% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $77,657,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 528,111 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,652,000 after purchasing an additional 163,534 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 68.2% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 5,887 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 2,387 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 184.9% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 568,199 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,041,000 after acquiring an additional 368,769 shares in the last quarter. Albar Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter worth about $37,329,000. Finally, DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,433,000. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin O'byrne bought 6,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J Erik Fyrwald purchased 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $74.00 per share, for a total transaction of $51,800.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 37,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,794,980. This represents a 1.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 11,200 shares of company stock worth $875,980 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $104.00 to $89.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.54.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IFF traded up $1.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,384,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,525,119. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 1.84. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.85 and a 12-month high of $106.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $75.94 and a 200-day moving average of $82.95. The company has a market capitalization of $19.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.08.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 2.12%. The business's revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -48.93%.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B's Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B's Health & Biosciences division.