ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 617 Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 259,792 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 617 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances were worth $27,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 183.2% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 5,050.0% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of IFF stock opened at $105.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.22. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.21 and a 12-month high of $106.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $101.97 and a 200-day moving average of $96.37.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.15. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 6.63% and a negative net margin of 20.82%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IFF has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $103.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.43.

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.