XTX Topco Ltd Raises Stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd significantly increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. by 519.5% in the first quarter, now holding 15,282 shares valued at approximately $1.19 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.3%, set to be paid on October 10th.
• International Flavors & Fragrances' shares were reported down 2.2% recently, with a market capitalization of $17.77 billion and a 12-month revenue decline of 1.9% year-over-year.

XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 519.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,282 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,815 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $1,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 31,437,763 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,658,063,000 after purchasing an additional 3,355,381 shares during the last quarter. Freemont Capital Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,143,882,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,166,778 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $520,032,000 after purchasing an additional 157,948 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.8% in the first quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 4,062,075 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $315,258,000 after acquiring an additional 32,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,407,262 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $288,084,000 after acquiring an additional 565,769 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mehmood Khan purchased 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $75.33 per share, for a total transaction of $301,320.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 4,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $346,819.32. The trade was a 662.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen N. Landsman purchased 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $77.28 per share, for a total transaction of $927,360.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 12,000 shares in the company, valued at $927,360. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 22,050 shares of company stock worth $1,688,512 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of IFF traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $70.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,483,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,632,350. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.85 and a 1-year high of $106.77. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $75.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.92. The company has a market cap of $17.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.46, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.08. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 7.31% and a positive return on equity of 7.99%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 29th. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -48.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on IFF. Tigress Financial started coverage on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $104.00 to $89.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.