Handelsbanken Fonder AB Reduces Stock Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 106,794 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 3,388 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $8,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO J Erik Fyrwald purchased 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 37,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,794,980. This trade represents a 1.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin O'byrne purchased 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $76.05 per share, with a total value of $342,225.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,696 shares in the company, valued at $585,280.80. This trade represents a 140.80% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 22,050 shares of company stock worth $1,688,512. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on IFF shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Tigress Financial began coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Cfra cut International Flavors & Fragrances from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $77.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $93.43.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

NYSE IFF traded up $0.60 during trading on Monday, hitting $76.69. 940,612 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,519,212. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.45. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.85 and a 12-month high of $106.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $19.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.05.

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, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. International Flavors & Fragrances's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is currently -48.93%.

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.