Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Boosts Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,738 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Grantvest Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth about $351,000. Walnut Level Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth approximately $559,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,218,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,554,996,000 after buying an additional 164,945 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at $7,189,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 174,671 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $14,768,000 after buying an additional 9,879 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFF opened at $78.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.01 billion, a PE ratio of 83.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.63 and a 12 month 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $82.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.16.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is currently 170.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, Director Kevin O’byrne bought 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $522,860. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IFF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cfra lowered International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reduced 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 note on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.31.

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.