State of Alaska Department of Revenue Increases Stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,956 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $2,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 638 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, United Community Bank increased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

IFF opened at $73.78 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.02. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.85 and a 52-week high of $106.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.87.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.99% and a negative net margin of 7.31%. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is presently -48.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Beril Yildiz sold 2,400 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.33, for a total transaction of $185,592.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,812.93. The trade was a 41.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kevin O’byrne acquired 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $76.05 per share, for a total transaction of $342,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $585,280.80. This represents a 140.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 22,050 shares of company stock worth $1,688,512. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on IFF. UBS Group boosted their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.43.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B’s Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B’s Health & Biosciences division.