California State Teachers Retirement System Increases Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 84.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 544,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 248,521 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.21% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $43,100,116 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of IFF. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.7% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 3,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 53,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,622,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 6.3% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,875 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peoples Bank KS grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 5.1% in the second quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 4,686 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IFF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Vertical Research downgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $96.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a "sector weight" rating for the company. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.40.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE IFF traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $84.59. The company had a trading volume of 647,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,801,838. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm's 50 day moving average is $82.06 and its 200-day moving average is $77.13. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.14 and a 1-year high of $89.32.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.11% and a net margin of 2.78%.International Flavors & Fragrances's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect 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 announced 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 is Friday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is presently 146.79%.

International Flavors & Fragrances declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 12.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, CAO Marc Birenkrant sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $85,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,910. This trade represents a 22.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Deveau sold 8,825 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.55, for a total value of $754,978.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $444,774.45. This represents a 62.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 15,543 shares of company stock worth $1,315,659 in the last three months. 1.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc NYSE: IFF develops and manufactures ingredients, flavor systems, fragrances and related solutions used in consumer and industrial products. Its offerings help customers create or enhance the taste, aroma, texture, appearance and performance of products across the food, beverage, personal care, home care, health and pharmaceutical markets.

IFF's business includes natural and synthetic flavor compounds, fragrance ingredients and compositions, cosmetic and personal-care ingredients, specialty food ingredients, enzymes, cultures, probiotics and other bioscience-based solutions.

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