Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Boosts Holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 109,854 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,090 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $6,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MDLZ. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Mondelez International in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mondelez International during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Mondelez International in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mondelez International in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mondelez International Price Performance

NASDAQ MDLZ opened at $58.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.95 and a 12 month high of $76.06. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.41.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last announced its earnings results 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, equities research analysts forecast that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MDLZ. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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 decreased their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $62.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Mondelez International from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Mondelez International from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Mondelez International from $61.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mondelez International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.72.

About Mondelez International

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.