Hsbc Holdings PLC Decreases Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. by 13.0% after selling 68,635 shares, resulting in ownership of approximately 0.18% of the company valued at $35.5 million.
• International Flavors & Fragrances announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%, despite a negative dividend payout ratio of -103.23%.
• The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, but experienced a 4.3% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 458,458 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 68,635 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.18% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $35,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577,723 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $122,447,000 after purchasing an additional 32,005 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 84,265 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,525,000 after purchasing an additional 8,490 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the first quarter worth about $1,271,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 361,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,529,000 after purchasing an additional 68,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the first quarter valued at approximately $688,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on IFF shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Tuesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays cut 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 report on Friday, August 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.36.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 15,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,001,160. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO J Erik Fyrwald purchased 15,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $64.95 per share, for a total transaction of $993,735.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,025,181.50. This represents a 24.65% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

International Flavors & Fragrances stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $66.50. 325,486 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,804,816. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a one year low of $62.33 and a one year high of $106.77. The stock has a market cap of $17.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $71.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.57.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.04. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 3.48% and a positive return on equity of 7.95%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. International Flavors & Fragrances's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. International Flavors & Fragrances has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 29th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. International Flavors & Fragrances's payout ratio is presently -103.23%.

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.