AIA Group Ltd Buys 10,642 Shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

AIA Group Ltd grew its position in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 45.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 33,896 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,642 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $2,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. United Bank raised its stake in Mondelez International by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 22,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 2,549 shares during the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY raised its position in shares of Mondelez International by 25.6% during the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 3,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Mondelez International during the third quarter valued at about $2,337,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mondelez International in the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mondelez International during the third quarter worth about $225,000. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on MDLZ shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Mondelez International from $78.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Argus cut shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Mondelez International in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.50.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

Mondelez International stock opened at $67.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.95 and a 12-month high of $76.06.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last announced its earnings results 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 16.75% and a net margin of 12.68%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is 54.97%.

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

Mondelez International Company 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.