Ruffer LLP Has $16.03 Million Stock Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP increased its stake in IFF by 7.8% in Q4 to 237,473 shares worth $16.03 million, part of broad institutional accumulation that leaves funds owning about 96.02% of the company.
• Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 142,000 shares at roughly $70.13 (~$9.96 million), raising his holding to 2,422,730 shares.
• Analysts have a consensus Moderate Buy with an average target of $88.10 while IFF trades near $72.42 after a quarter that missed EPS ($0.80 vs. $0.85) and showed a 6.6% YoY revenue decline; the stock yields 2.2%.

Ruffer LLP lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 237,473 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 17,263 shares during the quarter. Ruffer LLP owned about 0.09% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $16,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IFF. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 131.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,167,176 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $441,068,000 after buying an additional 4,069,075 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1,842.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,491,606 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $183,264,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363,307 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 5.5% in the third 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. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 51.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,706,279 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $289,624,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598,266 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 27.3% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 6,927,070 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $426,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,485,976 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IFF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Mizuho raised their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Berenberg Bank decreased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $78.30 to $77.50 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.10.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $72.42 on Wednesday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.14 and a 12-month high of $84.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business's 50-day moving average price is $74.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.58. The stock has a market cap of $18.50 billion, a PE ratio of -52.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.02.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.05). International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 3.20% and a positive return on equity of 7.67%. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. The business's revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances's payout ratio is -116.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 142,000 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.13 per share, for a total transaction of $9,958,460.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,422,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $169,906,054.90. This trade represents a 6.23% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company 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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