Korea Investment CORP Acquires 25,131 Shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 991,697 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,131 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.07% of Mondelez International worth $59,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MDLZ. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Mondelez International in the fourth quarter valued at about $256,832,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,282,937 shares during the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Mondelez International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $219,045,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Mondelez International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $159,823,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Mondelez International by 173.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,049,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,652,000 after acquiring an additional 1,935,356 shares during the last quarter. 78.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

Shares of MDLZ opened at $67.50 on Friday. Mondelez International, Inc. has a one year low of $53.95 and a one year high of $76.06. 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 $87.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.06 and a 200-day moving average of $64.94.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.01). Mondelez International had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 16.75%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid 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 dividend yield of 2.79%. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.97%.

Mondelez International announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MDLZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Mondelez International from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $62.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.50.

About Mondelez International

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.