Ancora Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors acquired 176,704 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the second quarter, worth approximately $14 million. Institutional investors collectively own 96.02% of IFF’s outstanding shares.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $91.40, although IFF recently missed quarterly earnings and revenue expectations.
• IFF declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share and authorized a $2.5 billion share-buyback program, allowing repurchases of up to 12.1% of outstanding shares.

Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 176,704 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $13,998,000. Ancora Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of International Flavors & Fragrances at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 97.9% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 554 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 55.7% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 587 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 884.1% during the second quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 679 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. Finally, EFG International AG purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter valued at $73,000. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $97.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Vertical Research downgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $93.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $85.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Twelve investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.40.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

NYSE IFF opened at $87.32 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $22.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.54. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.14 and a 52-week high of $89.32.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 is 146.79%.

International Flavors & Fragrances declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 4th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 12.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 260,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $74.28 per share, with a total value of $19,312,800.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,682,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,273,184.40. This trade represents a 10.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Marc Birenkrant sold 1,000 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $85,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $292,910. This represents a 22.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 15,543 shares of company stock valued at $1,315,659 in the last three months. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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.

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