LGT Group Foundation Increases Holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

LGT Group Foundation increased its stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 314,345 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,637 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $18,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DJE Kapital AG purchased a new position in shares of Mondelez International in the fourth quarter valued at $4,681,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Mondelez International by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 51,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,093,000 after buying an additional 1,678 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Mondelez International during the fourth quarter worth about $336,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Mondelez International by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 404,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,162,000 after buying an additional 73,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Mondelez International by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 70,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,203,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MDLZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DZ Bank cut Mondelez International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Dbs Bank cut Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Mondelez International from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.74.

Mondelez International Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ MDLZ opened at $64.25 on Monday. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.95 and a 1-year high of $76.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $59.41 and a 200-day moving average of $65.67. The firm has a market cap of $83.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.54.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.01). Mondelez International had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 16.75%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is 54.97%.

Mondelez International declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $9.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Mondelez International

Mondelez International, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and sells snack food and beverage products in the Latin America, North America, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. It provides biscuits and baked snacks, including cookies, crackers, salted snacks, snack bars, and cakes and pastries; chocolates; and gums and candies, as well as various cheese and grocery, and powdered beverage products.