MQS Management LLC Takes Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 5,310 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $412,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IFF. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 84,265 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,525,000 after purchasing an additional 8,490 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the first quarter valued at about $1,271,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth about $8,099,000. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 299.1% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 138,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $11,712,000 after acquiring an additional 103,810 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 361,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,529,000 after acquiring an additional 68,970 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on IFF. UBS Group upped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Tigress Financial started coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

NYSE IFF traded down $1.27 on Monday, hitting $74.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,320,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,712,297. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $76.05 and a 200-day moving average of $78.82. The company has a market capitalization of $19.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.87. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.85 and a 52-week high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

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

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.