Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 446,883 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Nordea Investment Management AB lowered its position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,225,893 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 446,883 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 2.05% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $423,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. SVB Wealth LLC increased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 4.0% in the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 48.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 244 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,792 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 24,638 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.3% in the first quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on IFF shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $81.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $82.53.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:IFF traded up $1.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $82.85. 3,253,610 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,241,975. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.11 and a fifty-two week high of $97.49. The company has a market capitalization of $21.15 billion, a PE ratio of -8.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.71.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 5.09% and a negative net margin of 22.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio is currently -32.27%.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cosmetic active and natural health ingredients for use in various consumer products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent, and Pharma Solutions.

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