Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Grows Position in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 195,161 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,532 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $11,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 15,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 3,275 shares during the last quarter. Holderness Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 11,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 20,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 2,515 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 360,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,555,000 after buying an additional 60,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 238.1% during the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 85,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,133,000 after buying an additional 60,522 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Mondelez International Stock Down 0.1 %

MDLZ opened at $63.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.23. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.95 and a 12 month high of $76.06.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts expect that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Mondelez International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $9.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is currently 54.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MDLZ. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Mondelez International from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Mondelez International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.74.

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.