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

Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 991,697 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,131 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $59,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MDLZ. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mondelez International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $256,832,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Mondelez International by 2,560.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new position in Mondelez International during the third quarter valued at approximately $219,045,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Mondelez International during the third quarter worth $159,823,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 173.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,049,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,935,356 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MDLZ. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Mondelez International from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Argus cut shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. DZ Bank lowered shares of Mondelez International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Mondelez International in a research note on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.50.

Mondelez International Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ MDLZ opened at $67.50 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $62.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.95 and a 52-week high of $76.06. The company has a market capitalization of $87.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (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%. Equities analysts forecast that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.97%.

Mondelez International declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mondelez International Company 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.