Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Decreases Stock Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 24.7% in Q4, selling 278,230 shares and retaining 849,320 shares valued at about $57.24 million.
• Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 142,000 shares at an average $70.13 on March 12, increasing his holding to 2,422,730 shares and signaling insider buying.
• Equity analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $87.50, even as IFF missed quarterly EPS ($0.80 vs. $0.85) while topping revenue estimates ($2.59B).

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 24.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 849,320 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 278,230 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.33% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $57,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tran Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,924,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 28.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,098,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $67,612,000 after purchasing an additional 245,719 shares during the period. Ruffer LLP bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,552,000. Dodge & Cox grew its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 36,972,638 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,275,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925,251 shares during the period. Finally, Icahn Carl C grew its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Icahn Carl C now owns 4,750,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $292,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on IFF shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Berenberg Bank dropped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $78.30 to $77.50 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $97.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 142,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $70.13 per share, with a total value of $9,958,460.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,422,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $169,906,054.90. The trade was a 6.23% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $70.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.50 and a 200 day moving average of $69.95. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.14 and a fifty-two week high of $84.45.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.67% and a negative net margin of 3.20%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -116.79%.

International Flavors & Fragrances Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc NYSE: IFF is a global leader in the creation and production of flavors, fragrances, cosmetic actives and nutritional lipids. The company develops taste and scent solutions for a wide array of end markets including food and beverage, personal care, household goods and pharmaceutical products. Its portfolio spans natural and nature-identical flavors, fine fragrances, functional ingredients for skin and hair care, and specialty oils that enhance nutritional value and sensory appeal.

IFF's research and development network comprises innovation centers in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, where multidisciplinary teams collaborate on aroma chemistry, sensory science and biotechnology.

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