Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. by 46.5%, acquiring 37,610 shares during the first quarter, now holding a total of 118,489 shares valued at approximately $9.18 million.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.15 per share, surpassing analyst expectations and generating revenue of $2.76 billion, although revenue was down 4.3% year-over-year.
• International Flavors & Fragrances announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, contributing to an annualized yield of 2.4%, despite a concerning -103.23% dividend payout ratio.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 46.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 118,489 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 37,610 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $9,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IFF. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 179.9% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 655 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 1st quarter valued at about $77,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 43.6% in the 1st quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 15,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $64.80 per share, with a total value of $1,001,160.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 15,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,001,160. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO J Erik Fyrwald acquired 15,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $64.95 per share, with a total value of $993,735.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,370 shares in the company, valued at $5,025,181.50. This represents a 24.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on IFF. Citigroup upped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Tigress Financial started coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.36.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of IFF stock traded up $1.7890 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.9190. 2,293,773 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,543,320. The company has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.04. The company's 50 day moving average is $72.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.82. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.33 and a 1 year high of $106.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. International Flavors & Fragrances has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 29th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is -103.23%.

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.