International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Rating Increased to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $110.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $111.00.

Several other research firms also recently commented on IFF. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Bank of America upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $107.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $93.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.27.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of IFF opened at $86.18 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 52-week low of $72.89 and a 52-week high of $106.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $100.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.24. The company has a market capitalization of $22.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.22.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.46). International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 20.33% and a positive return on equity of 7.16%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -17.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.75, for a total transaction of $458,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $297,086.50. This trade represents a 60.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IFF. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 55.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 101,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $8,686,000 after acquiring an additional 36,026 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the second quarter valued at $868,000. GM Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the second quarter worth about $686,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 255,849 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $22,002,000 after buying an additional 22,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 69.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,751 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,880,000 after acquiring an additional 23,278 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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.