International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF Shares Purchased by Amundi

Amundi raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 87.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,329,654 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 620,748 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.52% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $105,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 14,483.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 43,100,116 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,414,391,000 after purchasing an additional 42,804,581 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the second quarter worth about $1,835,955,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,092,368 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $751,875,000 after acquiring an additional 121,260 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,519,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $506,760,000 after acquiring an additional 352,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,771,894 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $454,607,000 after acquiring an additional 172,781 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 1.5%

International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $84.31 on Thursday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.14 and a 12-month high of $89.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.51 billion, a PE ratio of 77.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.09.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.11% and a net margin of 2.78%.International Flavors & Fragrances's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 4th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 12.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 18th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is presently 146.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael Deveau sold 8,825 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.55, for a total value of $754,978.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $444,774.45. The trade was a 62.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider De Mendonca Ana Paula Teles sold 5,718 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.19, for a total transaction of $475,680.42. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,543 shares of company stock worth $1,315,659. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IFF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Benchmark increased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Argus raised their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.40.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc NYSE: IFF develops and manufactures ingredients, flavor systems, fragrances and related solutions used in consumer and industrial products. Its offerings help customers create or enhance the taste, aroma, texture, appearance and performance of products across the food, beverage, personal care, home care, health and pharmaceutical markets.

IFF's business includes natural and synthetic flavor compounds, fragrance ingredients and compositions, cosmetic and personal-care ingredients, specialty food ingredients, enzymes, cultures, probiotics and other bioscience-based solutions.

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