Jump Financial LLC Boosts Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 83.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,618 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,917 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of IFF. Norges Bank bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at $452,363,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,489,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $464,926,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121,414 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,595,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $219,417,000 after purchasing an additional 433,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 102.6% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 653,589 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $55,261,000 after purchasing an additional 330,981 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, Director Kevin O'byrne purchased 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IFF. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $106.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Bank of America lowered their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup lowered their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $99.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.54.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IFF traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $76.26. 1,015,889 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,535,466. The firm has a market cap of $19.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.13, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.85 and a twelve month high of $106.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.67 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. As a group, analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. 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 170.21%.

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.