Candriam S.C.A. Raises Position in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,188,382 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 138,646 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $70,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Mondelez International by 3.2% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mondelez International by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,204,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,069,906,000 after buying an additional 341,203 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Mondelez International by 14.2% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Mondelez International by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,215,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,268,242,000 after purchasing an additional 489,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in Mondelez International by 12,057.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,574,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,327,000 after purchasing an additional 12,470,573 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus lowered shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.74.

Mondelez International Price Performance

Shares of MDLZ stock opened at $66.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $85.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, 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 current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.95 and a 1-year high of $76.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $59.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.61.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share 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 anticipate that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.97%.

Mondelez International declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mondelez International Company 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.