Aviva PLC Raises Position in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Aviva PLC raised its holdings in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 29.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 968,795 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 220,044 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned about 0.07% of Mondelez International worth $57,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,437,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,910,477,000 after purchasing an additional 931,776 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Mondelez International by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,913,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,721,954,000 after acquiring an additional 708,523 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Mondelez International in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,118,755,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,423,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,040,697,000 after acquiring an additional 208,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,354,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $618,458,000 after purchasing an additional 326,177 shares during the period. 78.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mondelez International Price Performance

Shares of MDLZ opened at $66.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $85.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.47. Mondelez International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.95 and a twelve 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.25 and a 200 day moving average of $64.54.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 EPS 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 anticipate that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MDLZ. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Mondelez International from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Mondelez International in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $69.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mondelez International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.20.

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.