4,904 Shares in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Purchased by Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,904 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $415,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of IFF. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 31,437,763 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,658,063,000 after acquiring an additional 3,355,381 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,218,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,554,996,000 after acquiring an additional 164,945 shares in the last quarter. Freemont Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,143,882,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,166,778 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $520,032,000 after acquiring an additional 157,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,664,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $478,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663,629 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of IFF traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.86. 309,700 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,518,559. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a PE ratio of 80.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.08. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.85 and a fifty-two week high of $106.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.60.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.08. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 2.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is presently -48.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kevin O'byrne acquired 4,500 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $76.05 per share, for a total transaction of $342,225.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,696 shares in the company, valued at $585,280.80. This trade represents a 140.80% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Beril Yildiz sold 2,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.33, for a total value of $185,592.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,812.93. This trade represents a 41.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 28,550 shares of company stock worth $2,211,372 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IFF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer cut their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $104.00 to $89.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Cfra cut International Flavors & Fragrances from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $77.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.54.

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.