International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Shares Purchased by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $4,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 638 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at $78,000. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kevin O’byrne acquired 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $522,860. This represents a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J Erik Fyrwald bought 700 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $74.00 per share, with a total value of $51,800.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,794,980. The trade was a 1.89 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on IFF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays raised International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.69.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 0.8 %

IFF stock opened at $73.46 on Friday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.85 and a 52-week high of $106.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $18.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.15, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.69.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 2.12%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is -48.93%.

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.