Ballentine Partners LLC Decreases Position in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Ballentine Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 19.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,087 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,597 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MDLZ. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 12,057.4% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,574,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,327,000 after purchasing an additional 12,470,573 shares during the period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new stake in Mondelez International during the 3rd quarter valued at $219,045,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Mondelez International by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,255,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,344,894,000 after buying an additional 2,268,639 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Mondelez International in the 3rd quarter worth $159,823,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Mondelez International by 173.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,049,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,652,000 after buying an additional 1,935,356 shares during the last quarter. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Mondelez International from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $75.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Mondelez International in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.81.

Mondelez International Stock Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ:MDLZ opened at $56.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.54. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.97 and a 52 week high of $77.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $61.25 and a 200-day moving average of $67.13.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.11 billion. Mondelez International had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 10.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. Analysts predict that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 3.47 EPS for the current year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Mondelez International announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mondelez International 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.