Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Reduces Stock Position in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lowered its stake in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 572,403 shares of the company’s stock after selling 64,629 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $34,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Mondelez International by 12,057.4% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,574,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,327,000 after buying an additional 12,470,573 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mondelez International in the fourth quarter worth $256,832,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Mondelez International by 2,560.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Mondelez International in the third quarter worth $219,045,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,268,639 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Mondelez International Stock Down 4.2 %

MDLZ opened at $64.98 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.47. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.95 and a 52 week high of $76.06. The company has a market capitalization of $84.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 EPS 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%. Analysts forecast that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International announced that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MDLZ shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Mondelez International from $69.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler cut Mondelez International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Mondelez International from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Argus cut Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Mondelez International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.74.

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.