Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Decreases Holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its holdings in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 572,825 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,282 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $34,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Mondelez International in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,118,755,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Mondelez International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $256,832,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Mondelez International by 2,560.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,411,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,749,000 after buying an additional 3,282,937 shares during the period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new stake in shares of Mondelez International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $219,045,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Mondelez International during the third quarter valued at approximately $159,823,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MDLZ. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Mondelez International from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.50.

Mondelez International Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ MDLZ opened at $67.72 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $87.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.75. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.95 and a 52-week high of $76.06.

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 net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 16.75%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors 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 yield of 2.78%. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is 54.97%.

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.