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

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System dramatically increased its IFF stake by 14,483.8% in the second quarter, owning 43.1 million shares valued at approximately $3.41 billion, or 16.89% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $91.40, despite mixed rating and target-price adjustments.
• IFF reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, with $0.82 in earnings per share versus the $1.07 estimate, but announced a $2.5 billion share-repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share.

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 14,483.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,100,116 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 42,804,581 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 16.89% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $3,414,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 97.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 554 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 55.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 884.1% in the 2nd 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 in the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IFF has been the topic of several research reports. Vertical Research lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark upped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $96.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.40.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE IFF opened at $84.03 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $21.44 billion, a PE ratio of 77.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $82.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.11. 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 announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. International Flavors & Fragrances's revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 18th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is currently 146.79%.

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

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, insider De Mendonca Ana Paula Teles sold 5,718 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.19, for a total value of $475,680.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Marc Birenkrant sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $85,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $292,910. This represents a 22.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 15,543 shares of company stock valued at $1,315,659 in the last quarter. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company 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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