Allianz SE Makes New Investment in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 12,251 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,029,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of IFF. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the fourth quarter worth $642,000. DnB Asset Management AS increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 635,598 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $53,740,000 after acquiring an additional 266,392 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 77,347 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,540,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter worth about $452,363,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 9,591 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Kevin O’byrne bought 6,500 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $522,860. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on IFF shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.31.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:IFF opened at $76.41 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.79. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.38 and a 12-month high of $106.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.28, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 2.12%. On average, research analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 170.21%.

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.