Cetera Investment Advisers Sells 4,772 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Cetera Investment Advisers trimmed its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 17.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,198 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,772 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $1,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of IFF. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 84.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 389,819 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,959,000 after buying an additional 178,664 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,595,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $219,417,000 after buying an additional 433,048 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 279.3% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 177,425 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $14,487,000 after buying an additional 130,642 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 115,477 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,764,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kevin O’byrne bought 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $76.05 per share, for a total transaction of $342,225.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 7,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $585,280.80. This represents a 140.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Stephen N. Landsman bought 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $77.28 per share, for a total transaction of $927,360.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $927,360. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 52,100 shares of company stock worth $3,631,607. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of IFF opened at $63.60 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $74.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.39. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a one year low of $63.50 and a one year high of $106.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market cap of $16.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.04.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.04. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.95% and a negative net margin of 3.48%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 29th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is -103.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on IFF shares. Tigress Financial started coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays cut their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer downgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.36.

International Flavors & Fragrances Profile

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.