Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Grows Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 157.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,435 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 4,548 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Freemont Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth about $2,143,882,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at about $452,363,000. Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 31,437,763 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,658,063,000 after purchasing an additional 3,355,381 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,407,262 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $288,084,000 after purchasing an additional 565,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 548,436 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

IFF stock opened at $74.81 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.85 and a 52-week high of $106.77. The stock's 50 day moving average is $76.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.88. The company has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a PE ratio of -22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.05.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.08. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.99% and a negative net margin of 7.31%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is currently -48.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on IFF shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $104.00 to $89.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Tigress Financial began coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.43.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, Director Kevin O'byrne acquired 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $76.05 per share, for a total transaction of $342,225.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,696 shares in the company, valued at $585,280.80. This represents a 140.80% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Stephen N. Landsman acquired 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $77.28 per share, with a total value of $927,360.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 12,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $927,360. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 22,050 shares of company stock worth $1,688,512 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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