International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF Shares Acquired by Swiss National Bank

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 7.0% in the first quarter, ending with 751,599 shares valued at about $54.5 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive: the stock has 13 Buy ratings and 5 Hold ratings, with a consensus Moderate Buy and an average price target of $91.16.
• IFF beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.25 versus the $1.08 estimate and revenue of $2.74 billion; the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share.

Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 751,599 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 49,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $54,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.3% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 392,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $28,476,000 after buying an additional 12,614 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 42.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 29,263 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,123,000 after acquiring an additional 8,674 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,990 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 22.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 17,732 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,298 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,598,636 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $115,981,000 after acquiring an additional 10,654 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IFF. Weiss Ratings upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup decreased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $96.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $74.00 to $71.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $84.80 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Thirteen research 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.16.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

NYSE:IFF opened at $76.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $76.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.50. The stock has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.93. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.14 and a 1-year high of $84.45.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.17. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 7.78%.The business had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 18th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.93%.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

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

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.