Invesco Ltd. Buys 433,048 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,595,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 433,048 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 1.01% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $219,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of IFF. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 114,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,654,000 after acquiring an additional 11,406 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 24,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 8,728 shares during the last quarter. Covea Finance boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 79.0% during the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 123,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,407,000 after buying an additional 54,340 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,508,000. Finally, S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 372.9% in the fourth quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 63,104 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,335,000 after buying an additional 49,761 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of IFF stock opened at $73.24 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.41 and its 200 day moving average is $87.45. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.85 and a 1-year high of $106.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The company has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.92, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. Research analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is presently 170.21%.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, Director Kevin O’byrne acquired 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $522,860. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on IFF. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Cfra cut shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $106.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.69.

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.