J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Reduces Stock Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG has reduced its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. by 75.2%, now holding 8,894 shares valued at $690,000 after selling 26,994 shares during the first quarter.
• International Flavors & Fragrances has reported earnings of $1.20 EPS for the last quarter, beating estimates and generating a revenue of $2.84 billion, although revenue declined 1.9% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, equating to a 2.3% yield, with the payment scheduled for October 10th.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 75.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,894 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 26,994 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 179.9% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 655 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 1st quarter worth about $77,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 48.5% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the first quarter worth about $138,000. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mehmood Khan bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $75.33 per share, for a total transaction of $301,320.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $346,819.32. This trade represents a 662.25% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen N. Landsman acquired 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $77.28 per share, for a total transaction of $927,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,000 shares in the company, valued at $927,360. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 22,050 shares of company stock worth $1,688,512. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IFF. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Tigress Financial initiated coverage on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.14.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 6.3%

IFF traded down $4.42 on Wednesday, hitting $66.20. 5,504,031 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,688,073. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $75.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a twelve month low of $63.71 and a twelve month high of $106.77. The company has a market cap of $16.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.04.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during 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 8.01%. The company's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 29th. International Flavors & Fragrances's payout ratio is presently -48.93%.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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.