International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $91.40.

A number of brokerages recently commented on IFF. Barclays increased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, insider De Mendonca Ana Paula Teles sold 5,718 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.19, for a total value of $475,680.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Deveau sold 8,825 shares of the company’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 value of $754,978.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,199 shares in the company, valued at $444,774.45. The trade was 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the second quarter worth $1,835,955,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 2nd quarter valued at about $223,065,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,809,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $131,222,000 after buying an additional 147,896 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,741,248 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $117,343,000 after buying an additional 328,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth about $113,284,000. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of IFF stock opened at $83.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $84.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.91. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 12 month low of $59.14 and a 12 month high of $89.32.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is presently 146.79%.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

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.