BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Purchases 38,749 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 18% in the fourth quarter, buying 38,749 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 254,304 shares worth about $17.1 million.
• IFF’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $1.25 per share on revenue of $2.74 billion, both above analyst estimates, even though revenue declined 3.6% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, which works out to an annualized yield of about 2.2%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average target price of $90.49.

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. grew its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 18.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 254,304 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,749 shares during the quarter. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. owned about 0.10% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $17,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 55.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 587 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 884.1% during the 2nd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 679 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 798 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1,190.0% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 903 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

IFF stock opened at $74.23 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $18.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $73.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.83. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1 year low of $59.14 and a 1 year high of $84.45.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.64 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 7.78%.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 business earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays increased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $74.00 to $71.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.49.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 142,000 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.13 per share, with a total value of $9,958,460.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 2,422,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $169,906,054.90. The trade was a 6.23% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

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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