Mather Group LLC. Increases Stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,980 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 12,057.4% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,574,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,327,000 after buying an additional 12,470,573 shares during the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new stake in Mondelez International during the 3rd quarter worth about $219,045,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in Mondelez International by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,255,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,344,894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,268,639 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Mondelez International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $159,823,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 173.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,049,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,935,356 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MDLZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $61.00 target price (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Mondelez International in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $79.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $78.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.76.

Mondelez International Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of MDLZ stock opened at $56.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.60. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.88 and a 1-year high of $76.69. The company has a market cap of $75.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.01). Mondelez International had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 10.58%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

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

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.