Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Reduces Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 601,265 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 11,536 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $48,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,380 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,844 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,792 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,684 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of IFF stock opened at $83.97 on Friday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.11 and a 12 month high of $97.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $81.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.36.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 5.09% and a negative net margin of 22.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 22nd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is currently -15.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on IFF shares. Barclays raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Argus cut shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $89.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.35.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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.