GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 6,831.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 556,464 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 548,436 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.22% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $431,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Up 1.7%

IFF stock traded up $1.34 on Wednesday, reaching $78.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 298,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,517,230. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.29. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.85 and a 12-month high of $106.77. The firm has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a PE ratio of 82.98, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.05. 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 (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is currently -48.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $104.00 to $89.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, CAO Beril Yildiz sold 2,400 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances 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 of the company's stock, valued at $256,812.93. The trade was a 41.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO J Erik Fyrwald purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $74.00 per share, with a total value of $51,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 37,770 shares in the company, valued at $2,794,980. The trade was a 1.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 22,050 shares of company stock valued at $1,688,512. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company 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.