Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $1.37 Million Stock Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. by 20.6%, retaining 17,632 shares worth approximately $1.37 million.
• Recent insider activity saw Director Paul J. Fribourg and CEO J Erik Fyrwald purchase significant shares, increasing their holdings by ∞% and 24.65%, respectively.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%, despite a negative dividend payout ratio of -103.23%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 20.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,632 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,568 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $1,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 31,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 100.8% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 15,228 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 7,644 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 184.9% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 568,199 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,041,000 after purchasing an additional 368,769 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 68.2% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 5,887 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 2,387 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 528,111 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $44,652,000 after purchasing an additional 163,534 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 15,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $64.80 per share, with a total value of $1,001,160.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 15,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,001,160. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J Erik Fyrwald purchased 15,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $64.95 per share, for a total transaction of $993,735.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,025,181.50. The trade was a 24.65% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of IFF traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $65.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,872,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,053,432. The business has a fifty day moving average of $70.72 and a 200 day moving average of $74.61. The company has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.07. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.33 and a 1 year high of $106.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.95% and a negative net margin of 3.48%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. International Flavors & Fragrances has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is presently -103.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on IFF shares. UBS Group cut their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.36.

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.