Empirical Finance LLC Has $2.78 Million Stock Position in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Empirical Finance LLC lessened its stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,529 shares of the company’s stock after selling 671 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $2,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Mondelez International in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mondelez International during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Mondelez International during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Mondelez International by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mondelez International during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Mondelez International Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MDLZ stock opened at $58.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $78.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.68. Mondelez International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.95 and a fifty-two week high of $76.06.

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

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

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MDLZ. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank cut Mondelez International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Mondelez International from $78.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Mondelez International from $61.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Mondelez International from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.72.

Mondelez International Profile

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.