Mizuho Securities USA LLC Boosts Stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 126,736 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,117 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $7,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MDLZ. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Mondelez International during the fourth quarter valued at about $213,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mondelez International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mondelez International by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Mondelez International by 160.2% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 43,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,578,000 after purchasing an additional 26,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. raised its position in Mondelez International by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 210,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,566,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. 78.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mondelez International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MDLZ opened at $64.51 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. 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.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MDLZ. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler downgraded Mondelez International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $70.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Dbs Bank cut shares of Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mondelez International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.