Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Cuts Position in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,710 shares of the company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $1,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 430.0% during the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 92,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,520,000 after buying an additional 74,975 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 289,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,318,000 after acquiring an additional 17,815 shares in the last quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 93,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,578,000 after acquiring an additional 18,961 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 3,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Mondelez International in the 4th quarter valued at $313,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Mondelez International Price Performance

MDLZ stock opened at $63.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.95 and a 1 year high of $76.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.18 and a 200 day moving average of $65.23. The company has a market cap of $82.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last announced its earnings results 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mondelez International declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $69.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Mondelez International from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Mondelez International from $61.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mondelez International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.74.

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.