Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) Position Cut by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 896,528 shares of the company’s stock after selling 153,650 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $53,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,437,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,910,477,000 after purchasing an additional 931,776 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Mondelez International by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,521,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,894,000 after buying an additional 91,361 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Mondelez International during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,919,000. AXQ Capital LP raised its position in shares of Mondelez International by 200.2% during the 4th quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 27,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,613,000 after buying an additional 18,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,323,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $377,706,000 after acquiring an additional 21,473 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Mondelez International Stock Down 0.4 %

MDLZ stock opened at $64.69 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.91. The company has a market cap of $83.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.95 and a 12-month high of $76.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

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

Mondelez International announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MDLZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on Mondelez International from $69.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group cut their target price 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, Piper Sandler lowered shares of Mondelez International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.70.

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.