Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $9.40 Million Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• Clifford Swan Investment Counsel trimmed its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 40,293 shares and ending with 139,418 shares valued at about $9.4 million.
• Despite that reduction, institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 96.02% of the stock. Several large investors, including Dodge & Cox, Vanguard, State Street, First Eagle, and Invesco, also recently increased their positions.
• Insiders have been buying IFF shares, highlighted by Director Paul J. Fribourg’s purchase of 260,000 shares for about $19.3 million. The company also beat quarterly earnings estimates, declared a $0.40 quarterly dividend, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $90.49.

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lessened its position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 139,418 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 40,293 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC owned approximately 0.05% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $9,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 5.5% in the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 36,972,638 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,275,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925,251 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,133,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,915,936,000 after purchasing an additional 252,983 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,971,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $679,460,000 after purchasing an additional 86,134 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,831,668 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $595,166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 131.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,167,176 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $441,068,000 after acquiring an additional 4,069,075 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 260,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $74.28 per share, with a total value of $19,312,800.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,682,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,273,184.40. This trade represents a 10.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders bought 415,500 shares of company stock worth $30,276,875. 1.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 0.4%

IFF opened at $73.26 on Friday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.14 and a fifty-two week high of $84.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $73.67 and a 200-day moving average of $71.98. 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 company has a market capitalization of $18.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.94.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.17. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 7.78%.The company had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on IFF shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $97.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $74.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note 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, Citigroup increased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Twelve investment 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 an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.49.

International Flavors & Fragrances 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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