Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,012 Shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 71,868 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,012 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $4,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 430.0% during the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 92,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,520,000 after buying an additional 74,975 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Mondelez International by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 289,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,318,000 after acquiring an additional 17,815 shares during the period. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Mondelez International by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 93,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,578,000 after acquiring an additional 18,961 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 3,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares during the period. Finally, Kennedy Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Mondelez International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $313,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MDLZ. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Mondelez International from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Dbs Bank downgraded Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $75.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.74.

Mondelez International Price Performance

Mondelez International stock opened at $64.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.95 and a 52 week high of $76.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.50 and a 200-day moving average of $65.47.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 12.68%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $9.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is 54.97%.

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.