Conning Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Conning Inc. increased its holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 593,602 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 85,807 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $35,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Mondelez International during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mondelez International during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Mondelez International by 100.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Mondelez International during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mondelez International during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MDLZ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Mondelez International from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Mondelez International from $61.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Mondelez International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.72.

Mondelez International Price Performance

NASDAQ MDLZ opened at $58.45 on Friday. Mondelez International, Inc. has a one year low of $53.95 and a one year high of $76.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $59.47 and a 200 day moving average of $66.41. The company has a market capitalization of $78.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.01). Mondelez International had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 17.53%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

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

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

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.