Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Grows Stock Holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,423,363 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 208,181 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $1,040,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MDLZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Mondelez International from $78.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Dbs Bank downgraded Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.50.

Mondelez International Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MDLZ opened at $67.65 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $62.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.65. The company has a market capitalization of $87.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last issued 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 return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 12.68%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mondelez International announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.