International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Position Trimmed by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 32.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,062 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 23,334 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $3,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 638 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 7,867 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 1,246 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 19,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,683,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,879,317 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $158,896,000 after buying an additional 17,372 shares during the period. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 99,551 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $8,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $93.43.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 0.7%

International Flavors & Fragrances stock traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $74.44. 1,806,712 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,517,396. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.85 and a 1 year high of $106.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $76.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.73.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.08. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.99% and a negative net margin of 7.31%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -48.93%.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, Director Kevin O'byrne purchased 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $76.05 per share, for a total transaction of $342,225.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $585,280.80. This trade represents a 140.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen N. Landsman acquired 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $77.28 per share, with a total value of $927,360.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 12,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $927,360. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 22,050 shares of company stock valued at $1,688,512. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.