International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Shares Sold by Wesleyan Assurance Society

Wesleyan Assurance Society decreased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,605 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 3,771 shares during the period. Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $3,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 179.9% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 655 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth $78,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 1st quarter worth $77,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $119,000 after buying an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 1st quarter worth $138,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, Director Mehmood Khan acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $75.33 per share, with a total value of $301,320.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 4,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $346,819.32. This represents a 662.25% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Beril Yildiz sold 2,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.33, for a total value of $185,592.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,321 shares in the company, valued at $256,812.93. This trade represents a 41.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 22,050 shares of company stock valued at $1,688,512 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on IFF shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.43.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

IFF traded down $1.52 on Thursday, hitting $75.94. 1,073,572 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,705,889. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.85 and a fifty-two week high of $106.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $75.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.44. The stock has a market cap of $19.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.04.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 7.31% and a positive return on equity of 7.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -48.93%.

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.