Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires 1,730 Shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 46,234 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $2,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MDLZ. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mondelez International by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 33,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,005,000 after acquiring an additional 1,609 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 31,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 10,707 shares during the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Mondelez International during the fourth quarter valued at about $301,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,437,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,910,477,000 after purchasing an additional 931,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Mondelez International by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,521,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,894,000 after buying an additional 91,361 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised their price target on Mondelez International from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $69.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target 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. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Mondelez International in a report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mondelez International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.70.

Mondelez International Price Performance

Shares of MDLZ stock opened at $64.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $61.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.91. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.95 and a 52-week high of $76.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50.

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 return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 12.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. 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 repurchase up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally 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.