Fruth Investment Management Sells 680 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Fruth Investment Management lowered its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,746 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 680 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $1,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of IFF. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,489,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $464,926,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121,414 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 70.9% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 708,081 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $74,299,000 after purchasing an additional 293,760 shares during the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $22,399,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,467,517 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,102,363,000 after buying an additional 196,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter worth $19,813,000. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.75, for a total transaction of $458,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $297,086.50. This trade represents a 60.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

IFF opened at $86.12 on Thursday. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a one year low of $72.94 and a one year high of $106.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.46). International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 20.33% and a positive return on equity of 7.16%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on IFF. Argus upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Bank of America upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $107.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B’s Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B’s Health & Biosciences division.