United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 11,243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $891,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. DNB Asset Management AS grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 53,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,622,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,249 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,162,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 42,033 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,855,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 55.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 587 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,875 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IFF has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $96.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $84.80 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.40.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 0.1%

International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $87.88 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.14 and a 1-year high of $89.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.93.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.25). International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.11% and a net margin of 2.78%.The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is 146.79%.

International Flavors & Fragrances announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 4th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 12.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, EVP Michael Deveau sold 8,825 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.55, for a total transaction of $754,978.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $444,774.45. The trade was a 62.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Marc Birenkrant sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $85,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,910. This represents a 22.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 15,543 shares of company stock worth $1,315,659 in the last quarter. 1.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) is a global leader in the creation and production of flavors, fragrances, cosmetic actives and nutritional lipids. The company develops taste and scent solutions for a wide array of end markets including food and beverage, personal care, household goods and pharmaceutical products. Its portfolio spans natural and nature-identical flavors, fine fragrances, functional ingredients for skin and hair care, and specialty oils that enhance nutritional value and sensory appeal.

IFF’s research and development network comprises innovation centers in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, where multidisciplinary teams collaborate on aroma chemistry, sensory science and biotechnology.