Leavell Investment Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,602 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Mondelez International during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mondelez International during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Mondelez International during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Mondelez International by 100.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mondelez International in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MDLZ. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $69.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price 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. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Mondelez International in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.72.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

Mondelez International stock opened at $61.16 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.95 and a 1-year high of $76.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last issued its quarterly 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, analysts expect that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is 54.97%.

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

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.