International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Shares Sold by Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC

Key Points

• Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC reduced its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 29.7%, now holding 9,836 shares worth approximately $763,000.
• The company reported earnings of $1.15 per share, beating analysts’ expectations, but revenue was down 4.3% year-over-year at $2.76 billion.
• International Flavors & Fragrances announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.5%, to be paid on October 10th.

Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC reduced its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 29.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,164 shares during the period. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Freemont Capital Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,143,882,000. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 31,437,763 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,658,063,000 after buying an additional 3,355,381 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,407,262 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $288,084,000 after buying an additional 565,769 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 6,831.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 556,464 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $431,870,000 after buying an additional 548,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albar Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter worth $37,329,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on IFF shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 15,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.80 per share, with a total value of $1,001,160.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 15,450 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,160. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mehmood Khan acquired 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $75.33 per share, with a total value of $301,320.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 4,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $346,819.32. This represents a 662.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 52,100 shares of company stock worth $3,631,607. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of IFF stock traded down $0.63 on Friday, hitting $63.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,912,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,092,972. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.04. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1 year low of $63.50 and a 1 year high of $106.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company's 50 day moving average price is $74.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.33.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.04. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.95% and a negative net margin of 3.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. International Flavors & Fragrances's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend 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.