E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 33.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,302 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,835 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $1,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MDLZ. 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 valued at $926,327,000 after buying an additional 12,470,573 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Mondelez International in the 4th quarter valued at about $256,832,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Mondelez International by 2,560.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,411,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,749,000 after buying an additional 3,282,937 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP purchased a new position in Mondelez International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $219,045,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Mondelez International by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,255,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,344,894,000 after buying an additional 2,268,639 shares in the last quarter. 78.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mondelez International Stock Up 1.5 %

Mondelez International stock opened at $67.74 on Friday. Mondelez International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.95 and a fifty-two week high of $76.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $60.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.60. The company has a market capitalization of $87.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last posted 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%. Research analysts expect that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Mondelez International declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MDLZ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $78.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Mondelez International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $63.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $69.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mondelez International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.74.

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.