Man Group plc Sells 5,601 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Man Group plc trimmed its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 5,601 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.07% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $14,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of IFF. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 31,437,763 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,658,063,000 after acquiring an additional 3,355,381 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,218,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,554,996,000 after acquiring an additional 164,945 shares during the period. Freemont Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,143,882,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,166,778 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $520,032,000 after buying an additional 157,948 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,664,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $478,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663,629 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of IFF traded down $0.77 on Wednesday, reaching $77.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,985,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,522,009. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $75.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.03, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.08. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.85 and a 12-month high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.08. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -48.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephen N. Landsman purchased 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $77.28 per share, for a total transaction of $927,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,000 shares in the company, valued at $927,360. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin O'byrne bought 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $522,860. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 24,050 shares of company stock valued at $1,869,147 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on IFF. UBS Group raised their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.54.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company 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.