ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 244,736 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 15,056 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.10% of International Flavors & Fragrances worth $20,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.7% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Albar Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 73.5% during the second quarter. Albar Capital Ltd now owns 1,146,234 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $109,133,000 after buying an additional 485,433 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 70.9% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 708,081 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $74,299,000 after buying an additional 293,760 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter valued at about $22,399,000. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP grew its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 627,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $59,736,000 after acquiring an additional 209,098 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on IFF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Bank of America raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $107.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Argus upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.75, for a total transaction of $458,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $297,086.50. This represents a 60.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

NYSE:IFF opened at $84.87 on Tuesday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.94 and a 1-year high of $106.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $86.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.46. 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 (NYSE:IFF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. International Flavors & Fragrances’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is currently -17.60%.

International Flavors & Fragrances Profile

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.