Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) Holdings Boosted by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 790,722 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,883 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $47,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mondelez International during the fourth quarter valued at $256,832,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Mondelez International by 2,560.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,411,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,749,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282,937 shares during the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new position in Mondelez International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $219,045,000. FMR LLC grew its position in Mondelez International by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,255,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,344,894,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Mondelez International in the third quarter valued at approximately $159,823,000. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MDLZ shares. Argus downgraded Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $61.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $78.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.70.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

Mondelez International stock opened at $64.69 on Wednesday. Mondelez International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.95 and a fifty-two week high of $76.06. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $83.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, equities research analysts predict that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is 54.97%.

Mondelez International declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.