Wells Fargo & Company MN Sells 54,867 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Wells Fargo & Company MN trimmed its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 316,279 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 54,867 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $26,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at $78,000. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

NYSE:IFF opened at $73.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.85 and a 52 week high of $106.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.45.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 170.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kevin O’byrne purchased 6,500 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IFF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $106.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Argus upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.69.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company 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.