International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Shares Sold by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC lessened its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,678,638 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 262,879 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 1.05% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $226,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 638 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised International Flavors & Fragrances from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kevin O'byrne bought 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mehmood Khan bought 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $75.33 per share, for a total transaction of $301,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $346,819.32. The trade was a 662.25% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 11,200 shares of company stock worth $875,980. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of IFF traded up $1.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $77.68. 1,384,469 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,523,655. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.95. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.85 and a 52-week high of $106.77. The company has a market cap of $19.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.64, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.08.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.08. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -48.93%.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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.