Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Trims Stock Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 111,718 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 14,589 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $9,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Winder Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter worth about $1,728,544,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 26.9% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,374,991 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,240,654,000 after purchasing an additional 2,835,689 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 59.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,772,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $814,890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,890,737 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 16.3% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,672,776 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $388,358,000 after purchasing an additional 795,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.3% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,274,530 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $483,953,000 after purchasing an additional 116,338 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock traded up $0.37 on Friday, hitting $83.97. 793,087 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,978,286. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.44 billion, a PE ratio of -8.36, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.23. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.11 and a 1 year high of $97.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 22.36% and a positive return on equity of 5.09%. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.69 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -15.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $81.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.35.

International Flavors & Fragrances 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.