First Merchants Corp Increases Stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

First Merchants Corp raised its holdings in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 31.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,444 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,369 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $1,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Mondelez International by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 99,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,926,000 after purchasing an additional 7,342 shares during the period. Aries Wealth Management grew its holdings in Mondelez International by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 10,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC increased its position in Mondelez International by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 28,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,702,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mondelez International in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MDLZ opened at $61.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $81.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.95 and a 1 year high of $76.06. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.22. 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 (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 12.68%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is 54.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MDLZ shares. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $78.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered Mondelez International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $52.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.