Bank of New York Mellon Corp Raises Stock Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, adding 226,148 shares and bringing its total holding to 1,587,982 shares worth about $107 million.
• Analysts remain constructive on IFF, with several firms raising price targets after the latest updates; the stock now carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a target price of $90.49.
• IFF beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.25 EPS versus the $1.08 estimate and revenue of $2.74 billion, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,587,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 226,148 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.62% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $107,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 884.1% in the second quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 679 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 798 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1,190.0% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 903 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IFF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $75.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.49.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

NYSE IFF opened at $73.18 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $73.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.03. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.14 and a fifty-two week high of $84.45. The company has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.49.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.64 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 7.78% and a return on equity of 7.65%. International Flavors & Fragrances's quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 18th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is 48.93%.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 260,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $74.28 per share, for a total transaction of $19,312,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,682,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,273,184.40. This represents a 10.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have bought a total of 415,500 shares of company stock valued at $30,276,875 over the last ninety days. 1.07% of the stock is owned by company 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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