International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Given New $96.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $96.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $80.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $84.29.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of IFF opened at $85.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.53, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. International Flavors & Fragrances has a twelve month low of $62.11 and a twelve month high of $97.49.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 22.36% and a positive return on equity of 5.09%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s quarterly revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd will be issued 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 is Thursday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is -15.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Winder Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,728,544,000. Dodge & Cox bought a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,250,236,000. State Street Corp raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,567,213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,171,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,222 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 59.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,772,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $814,890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,890,737 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 16.3% during 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 buying an additional 795,797 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

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.