Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,576 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,388 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Mondelez International were worth $9,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 430.0% in the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 92,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,520,000 after buying an additional 74,975 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 289,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,318,000 after purchasing an additional 17,815 shares during the last quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 93,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,578,000 after purchasing an additional 18,961 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 3,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Mondelez International during the fourth quarter worth $313,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

MDLZ opened at $64.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. Mondelez International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.95 and a twelve month high of $76.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $61.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.01). Mondelez International had a return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 12.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is presently 54.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MDLZ. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. DZ Bank lowered shares of Mondelez International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group dropped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.74.

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.