Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Trims Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. reduced its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. by 63.0%, leading to ownership of 104,826 shares after selling 178,427 shares in the second quarter.
• The company reported a positive earnings beat of $1.15 earnings per share compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11, despite revenue declining by 4.3% year-over-year.
• International Flavors & Fragrances declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.7%, though the company's payout ratio stands at -103.23%.

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 63.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,826 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 178,427 shares during the quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.'s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $7,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 33,774,607 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,621,247,000 after acquiring an additional 2,336,844 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,390,040 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,358,571,000 after acquiring an additional 171,281 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 4,062,075 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $315,258,000 after acquiring an additional 32,302 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,992,437 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $232,243,000 after acquiring an additional 397,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577,723 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $122,447,000 after acquiring an additional 32,005 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of IFF stock opened at $59.59 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.86. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.14 and a fifty-two week high of $106.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.54. The company has a market capitalization of $15.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.45, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.07.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. International Flavors & Fragrances has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 29th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 29th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. International Flavors & Fragrances's payout ratio is presently -103.23%.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, CEO J Erik Fyrwald acquired 15,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.95 per share, for a total transaction of $993,735.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 77,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,025,181.50. This trade represents a 24.65% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 15,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $64.80 per share, with a total value of $1,001,160.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,001,160. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on IFF shares. Argus dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $85.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $96.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.24.

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.

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