Virtu Financial LLC Acquires New Position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 12,945 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,094,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of IFF. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,664,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $478,912,000 after buying an additional 1,663,629 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,489,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $464,926,000 after buying an additional 1,121,414 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 926,873 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $78,367,000 after purchasing an additional 218,792 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 196,696 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at about $16,037,000. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 2.3 %

International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $77.93 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $19.93 billion, a PE ratio of 82.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.70. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.46 and a twelve month high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 7.72%. On average, research analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 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, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is 170.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on IFF shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Argus raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Cfra lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $77.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Kevin O’byrne bought 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.