Graham Capital Management L.P. Acquires 13,755 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. by 20.5% in the first quarter, owning a total of 80,778 shares worth approximately $6.27 million.
• CEO J Erik Fyrwald and Director Paul J. Fribourg both made significant purchases of the company's stock, indicating strong insider confidence.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with 12 buy ratings and a consensus target price of $92.36, while some have reduced price targets recently.

Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 20.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,778 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 13,755 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $6,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IFF. Alamea Verwaltungs GmbH acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 1st quarter worth approximately $596,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,295 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 83.2% during the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 7,093 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 3,221 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,259,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 707,059 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $54,875,000 after buying an additional 178,948 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFF traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $65.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,958,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,814,375. The company's 50 day moving average price is $71.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $16.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.07. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.33 and a 52-week high of $106.77.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

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 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 29th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -103.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IFF. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 research report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 15,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.80 per share, with a total value of $1,001,160.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 15,450 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,160. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO J Erik Fyrwald acquired 15,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $64.95 per share, with a total value of $993,735.00. Following the purchase, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.