International Flavors & Fragrances Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:IFF)

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 3,976 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 589% compared to the typical volume of 577 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kevin O’byrne purchased 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $80.44 per share, with a total value of $522,860.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $522,860. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 114,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,654,000 after purchasing an additional 11,406 shares during the period. Choreo LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 24,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,055,000 after acquiring an additional 8,728 shares during the last quarter. Covea Finance lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 79.0% in the 4th quarter. Covea Finance now owns 123,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,407,000 after acquiring an additional 54,340 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,508,000. Finally, S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 372.9% during the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 63,104 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,335,000 after purchasing an additional 49,761 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on IFF shares. Argus raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays dropped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.31.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE IFF traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.70. 176,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,653,028. The stock has a market cap of $19.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.66, 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 current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.93. International Flavors & Fragrances has a one year low of $75.73 and a one year high of $106.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.42.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.14. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 2.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 170.21%.

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.