Westpac Banking Corp Sells 44,767 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. by 95.6%, selling 44,767 shares and leaving them with only 2,052 shares valued at $159,000.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.15 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations by $0.04, despite a 4.3% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• Insiders have recently bought a total of 48,100 shares of the company's stock, indicating a potential confidence in the company's future performance.

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 95.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,052 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 44,767 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577,723 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $122,447,000 after purchasing an additional 32,005 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 84,265 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,525,000 after acquiring an additional 8,490 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the first quarter worth about $1,271,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 361,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,529,000 after purchasing an additional 68,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $688,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

NYSE:IFF traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.81. The stock had a trading volume of 334,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,805,748. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.33 and a twelve month high of $106.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market cap of $16.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.40, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.04. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $73.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.36.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. International Flavors & Fragrances has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 29th will be given 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 is currently -103.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, CEO J Erik Fyrwald bought 15,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.95 per share, for a total transaction of $993,735.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,025,181.50. This represents a 24.65% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 15,450 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,160.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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. Insiders have acquired a total of 35,250 shares of company stock worth $2,337,120 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IFF. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Tigress Financial began coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.36.

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.