Cerity Partners LLC Makes New Investment in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,892 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IFF. Winder Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,728,544,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the third quarter worth $95,612,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 34.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,927,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $267,711,000 after purchasing an additional 996,629 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 16.3% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,672,776 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $388,358,000 after purchasing an additional 795,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Causeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,492,000. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

NYSE:IFF opened at $85.76 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.23. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.11 and a twelve month high of $97.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 22nd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -15.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Barclays upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.