New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 20,827 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 201,118 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 20,827 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.08% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $15,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 164,945 shares during the last quarter. Freemont Capital Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at $2,143,882,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,166,778 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $520,032,000 after buying an additional 157,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at about $452,363,000. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Mehmood Khan acquired 4,000 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $75.33 per share, for a total transaction of $301,320.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $346,819.32. This represents a 662.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Stephen N. Landsman bought 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.28 per share, with a total value of $927,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $927,360. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 22,050 shares of company stock valued at $1,688,512. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 0.4%

International Flavors & Fragrances stock traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $76.33. 838,249 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,527,428. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $76.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.37. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.85 and a twelve month high of $106.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a PE ratio of -23.34, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.04.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -48.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on IFF. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Tigress Financial initiated coverage on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised International Flavors & Fragrances from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $93.43.

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.