International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $91.40.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on IFF shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group boosted 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, EVP Michael Deveau sold 8,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.55, for a total transaction of $754,978.75. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Marc Birenkrant sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $85,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,910. The trade was a 22.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 15,543 shares of company stock worth $1,315,659 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Flavors & Fragrances

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IFF. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 3,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 53,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,622,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,249 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,162,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 27.9% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 706 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 4.2% during the second quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 3,850 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFF opened at $84.31 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.09. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 52 week low of $59.14 and a 52 week high of $89.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.35, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.94.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. On average, analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 3.08 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, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 18th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is presently 146.79%.

International Flavors & Fragrances announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 4th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 12.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) develops and manufactures ingredients, flavor systems, fragrances and related solutions used in consumer and industrial products. Its offerings help customers create or enhance the taste, aroma, texture, appearance and performance of products across the food, beverage, personal care, home care, health and pharmaceutical markets.

IFF’s business includes natural and synthetic flavor compounds, fragrance ingredients and compositions, cosmetic and personal-care ingredients, specialty food ingredients, enzymes, cultures, probiotics and other bioscience-based solutions.