Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Decreases Stock Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH decreased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,349,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 16,499 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned about 0.53% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $104,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 638 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 925 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of IFF traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $78.45. 1,119,570 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,522,488. The stock has a market cap of $20.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.46, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $75.34 and a 200-day moving average of $80.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 1.84. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.85 and a 52 week high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.08. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -48.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Hernandez Margarita Palau purchased 850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $77.42 per share, with a total value of $65,807.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $185,266.06. This represents a 55.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO J Erik Fyrwald acquired 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $74.00 per share, with a total value of $51,800.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,794,980. This represents a 1.89% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 22,050 shares of company stock worth $1,688,512. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on IFF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.43.

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.