Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 132,437,250 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 931,776 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.90% of Mondelez International worth $7,910,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Mondelez International by 3.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,151,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,459,239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mondelez International by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,204,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,069,906,000 after purchasing an additional 341,203 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Mondelez International by 14.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,255,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,344,894,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268,639 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Mondelez International by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,354,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $618,458,000 after purchasing an additional 326,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Mondelez International by 0.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,878,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,077,000 after purchasing an additional 59,098 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MDLZ shares. Citigroup dropped 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $75.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus cut Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Mondelez International from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.74.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

Shares of MDLZ opened at $64.51 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.06. Mondelez International, Inc. has a one year low of $53.95 and a one year high of $76.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $83.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.97%.

Mondelez International declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership 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.