International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Stake Reduced by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council cut its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 88,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $7,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IFF. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth about $219,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 901 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter worth about $89,000. Cohen Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at about $226,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 351,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,460,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IFF traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $84.98. 642,985 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,129,731. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.83. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.11 and a twelve month high of $97.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 22.36% and a positive return on equity of 5.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 22nd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is -15.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IFF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $73.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.35.

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.