AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. by 64.7%, owning 117,495 shares valued at approximately $8.97 million.
• Several other hedge funds also increased their positions during the 4th quarter, with notable increases such as D.E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raising its stake by 287.9%.
• International Flavors & Fragrances reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.15, surpassing analysts' expectations, despite a 4.3% year-over-year decline in revenue.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 64.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 117,495 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 46,166 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $8,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 7.4% in the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 33,774,607 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,621,247,000 after buying an additional 2,336,844 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,390,040 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,358,571,000 after buying an additional 171,281 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.8% in the first quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 4,062,075 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $315,258,000 after buying an additional 32,302 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 15.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,992,437 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $232,243,000 after buying an additional 397,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577,723 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $122,447,000 after buying an additional 32,005 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFF traded down $0.67 on Friday, hitting $65.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,921,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,718,548. The company has a market cap of $16.83 billion, a PE ratio of -42.37, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $69.71 and a 200 day moving average of $74.15. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.33 and a 52-week high of $106.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.95% and a negative net margin of 3.48%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. International Flavors & Fragrances has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 29th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 29th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is presently -103.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Erik Fyrwald purchased 15,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $64.95 per share, for a total transaction of $993,735.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,025,181.50. The trade was a 24.65% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 15,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.80 per share, with a total value of $1,001,160.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 15,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,001,160. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on IFF. Barclays decreased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.36.

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.