Howard Capital Management Inc. Buys 1,162 Shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 38,838 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $2,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 289,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,318,000 after acquiring an additional 17,815 shares during the period. Legacy Private Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 957 shares during the period. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 93,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,578,000 after buying an additional 18,961 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Mondelez International in the fourth quarter valued at about $313,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 2,742,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,787,000 after buying an additional 37,897 shares during the last quarter. 78.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MDLZ shares. Argus cut Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Mondelez International from $61.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays cut their price target on Mondelez International from $69.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Dbs Bank cut Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mondelez International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.74.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MDLZ opened at $64.70 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $58.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.89. Mondelez International, Inc. has a one year low of $53.95 and a one year high of $76.06. The firm has a market cap of $83.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

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

Mondelez International announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $9.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board 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.