Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $10.30 Million Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 105.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 127,187 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,187 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $10,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 1,458 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 27,892 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,258,000 after buying an additional 3,592 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 212.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 284,797 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $23,060,000 after acquiring an additional 50,367 shares during the period. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 176,455 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $14,288,000 after acquiring an additional 6,350 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 0.3 %

IFF opened at $85.14 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $81.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a one year low of $62.11 and a one year high of $97.49.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 22.36% and a positive return on equity of 5.09%. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is currently -15.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IFF. Argus downgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $89.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.