Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Sells 9,302 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec reduced its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. by 20% by selling 9,302 shares, leaving them with a total of 37,296 shares valued at approximately $2.9 million.
• International Flavors & Fragrances reported earnings of $1.15 per share for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, while also announcing a $0.40 per share quarterly dividend with a yield of 2.4%.
• Analysts have downgraded the company's target prices, with estimates now averaging around $79.00, while the stock currently maintains a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec reduced its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 20.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,296 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 9,302 shares during the quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $2,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577,723 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $122,447,000 after purchasing an additional 32,005 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 84,265 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,525,000 after purchasing an additional 8,490 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the first quarter valued at about $1,271,000. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 7.4% during the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 33,774,607 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,621,247,000 after purchasing an additional 2,336,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 361,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,529,000 after buying an additional 68,970 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

NYSE IFF traded down $0.68 on Wednesday, reaching $64.39. 947,587 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,809,128. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.33 and a 12 month high of $106.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.41. The stock has a market cap of $16.50 billion, a PE ratio of -41.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.07.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.04. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 3.48% and a positive return on equity of 7.95%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. International Flavors & Fragrances has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 29th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -103.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO J Erik Fyrwald bought 15,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.95 per share, for a total transaction of $993,735.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 77,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,025,181.50. This trade represents a 24.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 15,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,160.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 15,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,001,160. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on IFF shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.36.

International Flavors & Fragrances Profile

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.