NEOS Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 24.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 176,738 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,254 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $10,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd increased its stake in Mondelez International by 430.0% during the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 92,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,520,000 after purchasing an additional 74,975 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 289,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,318,000 after acquiring an additional 17,815 shares during the period. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Mondelez International by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 93,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,578,000 after purchasing an additional 18,961 shares during the period. Legacy Private Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Mondelez International by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 3,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Mondelez International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $313,000. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

NASDAQ MDLZ opened at $66.33 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $61.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.92. The company has a market capitalization of $85.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.95 and a 1 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.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts expect that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is 54.97%.

Mondelez International announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits 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 board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MDLZ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased 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. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.70.

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.