Prudential Financial Inc. Cuts Position in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 896,528 shares of the company’s stock after selling 153,650 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.07% of Mondelez International worth $53,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd boosted its position in Mondelez International by 430.0% during the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 92,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,520,000 after purchasing an additional 74,975 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Mondelez International by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 289,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,318,000 after buying an additional 17,815 shares during the period. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 93,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,578,000 after buying an additional 18,961 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 3,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 957 shares during the period. Finally, Kennedy Investment Group acquired a new position in Mondelez International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $313,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Mondelez International Price Performance

MDLZ opened at $64.69 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $61.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.91. Mondelez International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.95 and a fifty-two week high of $76.06. The firm has a market cap of $83.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last announced 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.97%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDLZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Mondelez International from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Mondelez International from $78.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.70.

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.