White Pine Capital LLC Sells 1,311 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

White Pine Capital LLC trimmed its position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 24.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,023 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,311 shares during the period. White Pine Capital LLC’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $326,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 196.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,882 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 9,206 shares during the period. Cohen Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth approximately $226,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 93.6% during the fourth quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 85,140 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,894,000 after acquiring an additional 41,173 shares during the period. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the third quarter worth approximately $4,171,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 47.7% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,613 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,041,000 after buying an additional 14,416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on IFF. Barclays upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Argus cut shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $89.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.35.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of IFF stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $84.61. 900,101 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,247,330. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.16. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.11 and a 52-week high of $97.49.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 22.36% and a positive return on equity of 5.09%. The business had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is -15.94%.

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.