Costa Mark J 4

What Happened Mark J. Costa, a director of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF), had four small open‑market transactions in 2023 that were later reported on a Form 4 filed in 2026. The transactions were: purchased 10 shares at $84.27 on 2023-03-24 ($843), sold 15 shares at $77.49 on 2023-05-30 ($1,162), purchased 15 shares at $80.95 on 2023-08-04 ($1,214), and sold 15 shares at $66.05 on 2023-10-25 ($991). Net activity across these trades was roughly break‑even (buys ≈ $2,057; sells ≈ $2,153). These were small purchases and sales rather than large, directional insider bets.

Key Details

• Transactions:
  • 2023-03-24: Purchase 10 shares @ $84.27 (Acquired $843)
  • 2023-05-30: Sale 15 shares @ $77.49 (Disposed $1,162)
  • 2023-08-04: Purchase 15 shares @ $80.95 (Acquired $1,214)
  • 2023-10-25: Sale 15 shares @ $66.05 (Disposed $991)
• Shares owned following these transactions: not reported in the provided excerpt.
• Footnote: The reporting person says these were automated transactions executed by the broker's tax‑loss harvesting account, made at the broker's sole discretion; the director had no control or awareness of these small trades until recently and they resulted in losses.
• Filing timeliness: The Form 4 was filed on 2026-03-25 reporting 2023 transactions, i.e., a delayed filing (~3 years after the trades). This reduces the usefulness of these trades for timely market insight.

Context

• These were routine open‑market buys and sells executed automatically by a broker under a tax‑loss harvesting arrangement, not discretionary trades by the director. As such, they do not necessarily reflect the director's current views on IFF stock.
• For retail investors, small automated purchases/sales like these are typically less informative than deliberate, sizable insider purchases.