Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) Shares Sold by Smith Moore & CO.

Smith Moore & CO. lowered its position in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,584 shares of the company’s stock after selling 531 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDLZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Mondelez International from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus lowered Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mondelez International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.20.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

Shares of MDLZ opened at $66.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $85.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.47. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.95 and a 52-week 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.25 and a 200 day moving average price 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 net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 16.75%. Research analysts predict that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

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

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.