Marshall Wace LLP Sells 9,912 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Marshall Wace LLP lowered its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,804 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 9,912 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $7,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter valued at $406,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,809 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 470,676 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $49,388,000 after purchasing an additional 9,555 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,041 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 10,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, Director Kevin O'byrne purchased 6,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $522,860. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

International Flavors & Fragrances stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $76.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,015,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,535,466. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $77.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.15. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.85 and a 12 month high of $106.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.50 billion, a PE ratio of 81.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.14. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances's payout ratio is 170.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $106.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Argus raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $99.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.54.

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.