International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Stake Lifted by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 24.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 305,164 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 60,428 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.12% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $23,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 179.9% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 655 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. Finally, United Community Bank raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 925 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on IFF. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $104.00 to $89.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $93.43.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 0.4%

IFF traded down $0.30 on Friday, reaching $76.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 838,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,531,271. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.85 and a 1 year high of $106.77. The business's 50 day moving average is $76.23 and its 200 day moving average is $79.30. The stock has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.04.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued 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 2.10%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is currently -48.93%.

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.