18,730,205 Shares in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 18,730,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,755,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 12.7% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 22,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 2,549 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 82.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mondelez International in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cadence Bank increased its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 11,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Mondelez International by 213.9% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 92,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,798,000 after purchasing an additional 62,877 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. DZ Bank cut Mondelez International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $75.00 to $62.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $61.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned 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 $69.50.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MDLZ opened at $67.50 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.94. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.95 and a twelve month high of $76.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 12.68%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International announced that its board has authorized 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid 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 2.79%. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.97%.

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.