Swedbank AB Boosts Stock Holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 938,077 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,532 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.07% of Mondelez International worth $56,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MDLZ. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 5.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 103,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,794,000 after acquiring an additional 5,777 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 9.0% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 17.5% during the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Mondelez International during the second quarter valued at about $267,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Mondelez International during the second quarter valued at about $252,000. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $79.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Mondelez International in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $61.00 price target (down from $74.00) on shares of Mondelez International in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mondelez International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.06.

Mondelez International Price Performance

MDLZ stock opened at $57.13 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $60.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.84. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.97 and a 52-week high of $77.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.11 billion. Mondelez International had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 17.53%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors 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 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.67%.

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

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.