Great Lakes Advisors LLC Has $14.40 Million Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors trimmed its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 213,719 shares valued at about $14.4 million.
• IFF reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.25 versus $1.08 expected and revenue of $2.74 billion versus $2.64 billion expected, even though sales declined 3.6% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share payable July 10, and insiders showed confidence with director Paul J. Fribourg buying 260,000 shares in early June.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 213,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 20,937 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $14,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 131.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,167,176 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $441,068,000 after purchasing an additional 4,069,075 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at $211,703,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1,842.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,491,606 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $183,264,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363,307 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 5.5% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 27.5% during the 4th 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 during the period. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Up 4.6%

NYSE IFF opened at $77.64 on Friday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.14 and a 1-year high of $84.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $74.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.29.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.64 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 7.78% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 18th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $74.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $75.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $97.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 260,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $74.28 per share, with a total value of $19,312,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,682,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $199,273,184.40. This represents a 10.73% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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