Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 20,870 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 22.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 20,870 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $6,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. Freemont Capital Pte Ltd acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth about $2,143,882,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at $452,363,000. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 31,437,763 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,658,063,000 after acquiring an additional 3,355,381 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,664,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $478,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663,629 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,407,262 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $288,084,000 after purchasing an additional 565,769 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of IFF stock traded up $0.89 on Wednesday, reaching $77.55. 1,410,883 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,521,563. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $65.85 and a one year high of $106.77. The stock has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a PE ratio of 82.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.29.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 2.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. International Flavors & Fragrances's payout ratio is presently -48.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Hernandez Margarita Palau purchased 850 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.42 per share, with a total value of $65,807.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,393 shares in the company, valued at $185,266.06. This trade represents a 55.09% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin O'byrne acquired 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $76.05 per share, with a total value of $342,225.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,696 shares in the company, valued at $585,280.80. This represents a 140.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 22,050 shares of company stock valued at $1,688,512. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on IFF shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.43.

International Flavors & Fragrances 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.