Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich Has $899,000 Stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich reduced its stake in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,065 shares of the company’s stock after selling 880 shares during the quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Mondelez International by 12,057.4% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,574,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,327,000 after purchasing an additional 12,470,573 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in shares of Mondelez International in the third quarter valued at about $219,045,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 14.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,255,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,344,894,000 after buying an additional 2,268,639 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Mondelez International during the 3rd quarter worth about $159,823,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings 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 Up 3.3 %

Mondelez International stock opened at $60.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Mondelez International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.95 and a fifty-two week high of $76.06.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last posted 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 anticipate that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is presently 54.97%.

Mondelez International announced that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MDLZ. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Mondelez International from $78.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lowered their target price on 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, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Mondelez International in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.72.

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.