International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $IFF Shares Bought by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 93.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,584 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 8,976 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $1,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IFF. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 5.5% in the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 36,972,638 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,275,296,000 after buying an additional 1,925,251 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,133,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,915,936,000 after buying an additional 252,983 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,971,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $679,460,000 after buying an additional 86,134 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,831,668 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $595,166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 131.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,167,176 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $441,068,000 after purchasing an additional 4,069,075 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting International Flavors & Fragrances this week:

• Positive Sentiment: IFF said the Food Ingredients sale to CVC is valued at roughly $4.3 billion, or about 10x EBITDA, which could help strengthen the balance sheet and support a more focused business mix. IFF Enters Into Agreement to Sell Its Food Ingredients Business to CVC
• Positive Sentiment: The company also backed its annual sales outlook, which may reassure investors that the divestiture is part of a broader profitability strategy rather than a sign of weakening demand. IFF To Sell Food Ingredients Business For $4.3 Bln, Backs Annual Sales Outlook; Pre-Market Stock Up
• Neutral Sentiment: LMR by IFF opened a new experimental field in Grasse, France, highlighting ongoing investment in natural ingredients and perfumery research, but this is unlikely to have an immediate stock-moving impact. LMR by IFF Inaugurates New Experimental Field in Grasse
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors may worry that selling the Food Ingredients unit reduces IFF’s scale and removes a key revenue contributor, even if the move improves profitability over time. International Flavors and Fragrances nears $4 billion deal to sell food ingredients business, WSJ reports

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 142,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.13 per share, for a total transaction of $9,958,460.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,422,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $169,906,054.90. The trade was a 6.23% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

IFF opened at $76.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a PE ratio of 23.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.70. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.14 and a fifty-two week high of $84.45.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.17. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 7.78%.The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 18th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is presently 48.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on IFF. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $85.00 to $95.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $97.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.80.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) is a global leader in the creation and production of flavors, fragrances, cosmetic actives and nutritional lipids. The company develops taste and scent solutions for a wide array of end markets including food and beverage, personal care, household goods and pharmaceutical products. Its portfolio spans natural and nature-identical flavors, fine fragrances, functional ingredients for skin and hair care, and specialty oils that enhance nutritional value and sensory appeal.

IFF’s research and development network comprises innovation centers in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, where multidisciplinary teams collaborate on aroma chemistry, sensory science and biotechnology.