Trexquant Investment LP Sells 40,783 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP reduced its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 60.2%, selling 40,783 shares and leaving it with 26,919 shares valued at approximately $2.09 million.
• Several hedge funds have notably increased their positions in the company, including Mercer Global Advisors and BNP Paribas Financial Markets, with institutional investors now owning 96.02% of the stock.
• International Flavors & Fragrances announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, set to be paid to stockholders on October 10th, representing a 2.4% yield.

Trexquant Investment LP lowered its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 60.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,919 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 40,783 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $2,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 179.9% in the first 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 last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 43.6% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 48.5% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IFF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of 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. Oppenheimer downgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Barclays cut their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.36.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 0.7%

IFF traded up $0.44 on Friday, hitting $65.97. The company had a trading volume of 1,872,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,053,432. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.33 and a 52-week high of $106.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.07.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.04. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 3.48% and a positive return on equity of 7.95%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. International Flavors & Fragrances's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. International Flavors & Fragrances has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 29th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -103.23%.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, CEO J Erik Fyrwald acquired 15,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,025,181.50. The trade was a 24.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 15,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.80 per share, with a total value of $1,001,160.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 15,450 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,160. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.