International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Shares Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 527,093 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 81,927 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $44,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of IFF. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $452,363,000. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 31,437,763 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,658,063,000 after purchasing an additional 3,355,381 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,664,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $478,912,000 after buying an additional 1,663,629 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.7% in 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 buying an additional 1,121,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,595,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $219,417,000 after acquiring an additional 433,048 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kevin O’byrne acquired 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $522,860. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on IFF. Bank of America cut their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $106.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $104.00 to $89.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.54.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

IFF stock opened at $76.66 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $77.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.55, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 1.84. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.85 and a 1 year high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. On average, research analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is currently 170.21%.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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.