Sentry Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,321 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $107,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IFF. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 196.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,882 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 9,206 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 93.6% during the fourth quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 85,140 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,894,000 after buying an additional 41,173 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the third quarter worth about $4,171,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 195.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,972 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 3,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,613 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,041,000 after acquiring an additional 14,416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on IFF. Argus downgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $81.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.35.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 0.1 %

International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $82.85 on Thursday. 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.19.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is presently -15.94%.

International Flavors & Fragrances 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.