International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Shares Sold by Delta Financial Group Inc.

Delta Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 18.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,605 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 816 shares during the period. Delta Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 48.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 244 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 241.3% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 744 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. Argus downgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. 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, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.29.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of IFF stock traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $85.99. 10,232,892 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,311,798. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.11 and a 12 month high of $97.49. The company has a market cap of $21.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.56, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $80.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 5.09% and a negative net margin of 22.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is currently -15.94%.

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.