International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $91.40

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $91.40.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IFF. Argus boosted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $96.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings cut International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Marc Birenkrant sold 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,446 shares in the company, valued at $292,910. This represents a 22.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Deveau sold 8,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.55, for a total transaction of $754,978.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,199 shares in the company, valued at $444,774.45. This represents a 62.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,543 shares of company stock valued at $1,315,659. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CX Institutional lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 10.9% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,548 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 815.7% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,485 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,811,000 after acquiring an additional 31,610 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,410,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.4% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 132,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,523,000 after purchasing an additional 13,605 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFF opened at $82.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $21.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.71, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.91. International Flavors & Fragrances has a one year low of $59.14 and a one year high of $89.32. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.06.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.11% and a net margin of 2.78%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 4th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 12.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 18th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 146.79%.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) develops and manufactures ingredients and solutions used in food, beverages, personal care products, fragrances, household products, pharmaceuticals and other consumer goods. The company works with manufacturers to create flavors, fragrances, functional ingredients and sensory experiences for products sold under consumer brands.

IFF’s portfolio includes natural and synthetic flavor compounds, fragrance ingredients, specialty ingredients, food texturants, enzymes, cultures, probiotics and pharmaceutical excipients.