Royal Bank of Canada Has $30.53 Million Stock Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 361,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 68,970 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.14% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $30,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 638 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, United Community Bank boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 925 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, CEO J Erik Fyrwald bought 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $74.00 per share, with a total value of $51,800.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,770 shares in the company, valued at $2,794,980. This trade represents a 1.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin O'byrne bought 6,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $522,860. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 28,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,211,372 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFF traded up $0.41 on Thursday, reaching $75.55. 224,053 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,520,350. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.85 and a fifty-two week high of $106.77. The company's 50 day moving average is $75.31 and its 200-day moving average is $81.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 80.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.93.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.08. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 2.12%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -48.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on IFF. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.