Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Raises Stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 63.5% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 360,870 shares for a total ownership of approximately $72.1 million.
• International Flavors & Fragrances reported $1.15 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.11, despite experiencing a 4.3% decrease in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40, representing a yield of 2.4%, with shareholders set to receive the payment on October 10th.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 63.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 929,069 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 360,870 shares during the quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned about 0.36% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $72,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 33,774,607 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,621,247,000 after acquiring an additional 2,336,844 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,390,040 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,358,571,000 after acquiring an additional 171,281 shares in the last quarter. Freemont Capital Pte Ltd bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,143,882,000. First Pacific Advisors LP increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 4,062,075 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $315,258,000 after purchasing an additional 32,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,992,437 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $232,243,000 after purchasing an additional 397,327 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of IFF traded up $0.44 on Friday, reaching $65.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,872,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,053,432. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.56, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $70.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.67. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.33 and a 12-month high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.04. The company 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 firm's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. International Flavors & Fragrances has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 29th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -103.23%.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, CEO J Erik Fyrwald purchased 15,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $64.95 per share, with a total value of $993,735.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,025,181.50. This trade represents a 24.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 15,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $64.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,160.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 15,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,001,160. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Barclays reduced 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. Oppenheimer lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. 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 report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.36.

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.