Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Mondelez International, Inc. $MDLZ

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,498,553 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 475,963 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $303,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Mondelez International by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,446,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,036,594,000 after buying an additional 670,634 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Mondelez International by 90.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 29,017,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,968,811,000 after acquiring an additional 13,755,181 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,951,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,943,170,000 after purchasing an additional 242,695 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mondelez International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,239,834,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,892,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345,078 shares during the period. 78.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mondelez International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MDLZ opened at $54.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.61. Mondelez International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.13 and a fifty-two week high of $71.15. The stock has a market cap of $69.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $58.02 and a 200-day moving average of $62.69.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 11th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter. Mondelez International had a return on equity of 14.16% and a net margin of 9.38%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on MDLZ shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Mondelez International from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Mondelez International from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Mondelez International from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Mondelez International from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 21st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.95.

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.