Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) Shares Acquired by Choate Investment Advisors

Choate Investment Advisors boosted its position in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 51.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,336 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,853 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Mondelez International were worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDLZ. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mondelez International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Mondelez International during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Mondelez International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Mondelez International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mondelez International in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Mondelez International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MDLZ opened at $64.31 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $83.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. Mondelez International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.95 and a twelve month high of $76.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.34.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.01). Mondelez International had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 16.75%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.97%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MDLZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $78.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Mondelez International from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered shares of Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy 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 $69.74.

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.