Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Acquires Shares of 283,253 International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Key Points

• Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. acquired 283,253 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. valued at approximately $21.98 million, making it the 19th largest holding in their portfolio.
• A significant portion of International Flavors & Fragrances is held by institutional investors, with 96.02% of the stock owned by them, showcasing strong institutional confidence.
• International Flavors & Fragrances reported an EPS of $1.15 for its latest quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 4.3%.

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 283,253 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $21,983,000. International Flavors & Fragrances comprises about 1.5% of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. owned 0.11% of International Flavors & Fragrances as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 13.4% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 28.1% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 442,822 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $34,367,000 after acquiring an additional 97,191 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 46.5% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 118,489 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $9,178,000 after acquiring an additional 37,610 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 6.2% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 81,039 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,275,000 after acquiring an additional 4,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 55.0% in the first quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 19,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 6,820 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Up 0.1%

IFF stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.78. 1,389,246 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,607,229. The business's 50 day moving average price is $73.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.66. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.33 and a 52-week 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 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a PE ratio of -42.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 29th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is presently -103.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Hernandez Margarita Palau purchased 850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.42 per share, for a total transaction of $65,807.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,393 shares in the company, valued at $185,266.06. The trade was a 55.09% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 15,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,160.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 15,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,001,160. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 48,100 shares of company stock valued at $3,330,287. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IFF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Tigress Financial started coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group dropped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on 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. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.36.

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.