Garland Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Garland Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,535 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 470 shares during the quarter. International Flavors & Fragrances makes up about 2.7% of Garland Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Garland Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $3,258,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,467,517 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,102,363,000 after purchasing an additional 196,696 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,008,830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $628,341,000 after purchasing an additional 77,521 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,664,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $478,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663,629 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,489,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $464,926,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Advisors LP raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 4,029,773 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $340,717,000 after purchasing an additional 22,991 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. 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 research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, Director Kevin O’byrne purchased 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $522,860. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $77.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.93. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.28 and a 1 year high of $106.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $83.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.87. The stock has a market cap of $19.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.90, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. As a group, research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is 170.21%.

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.