International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) was in 18 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. IFF investors should be aware of a decrease in hedge fund sentiment of late. There were 19 hedge funds in our database with IFF holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In the eyes of most shareholders, hedge funds are assumed to be unimportant, old financial vehicles of the past. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open at the moment, we look at the moguls of this group, close to 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group has its hands on most of the hedge fund industry’s total capital, and by monitoring their top investments, we have uncovered a number of investment strategies that have historically outstripped Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outperformed the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (explore the details and some picks here).
With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the latest action encompassing International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF).
How have hedgies been trading International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF)?
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 18 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -5% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors had the largest position in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF), worth close to $73.3 million, comprising 0.5% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Chuck Royce of Royce & Associates, with a $21.7 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds that are bullish include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Paul Marshall and Ian Wace’s Marshall Wace LLP and David Harding’s Winton Capital Management.
Seeing as International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there was a specific group of funds that elected to cut their positions entirely heading into Q2. Interestingly, Larry Foley and Paul Farrell’s Bronson Point Partners said goodbye to the biggest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, worth an estimated $21.9 million in stock.. John A. Levin’s fund, Levin Capital Strategies, also dropped its stock, about $6.7 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds heading into Q2.
How are insiders trading International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF)?
Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time period, International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF). These stocks are Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ROC), The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL), Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB), W.R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA), and Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK). This group of stocks belong to the specialty chemicals industry and their market caps match IFF’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ROC) | 34 | 0 | 4 |
| The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL) | 18 | 1 | 3 |
| Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) | 17 | 0 | 2 |
| W.R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA) | 46 | 0 | 6 |
| Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK) | 29 | 0 | 13 |
With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s strategies, retail investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
