Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 3,282,937 Shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 2,560.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,411,179 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,282,937 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.26% of Mondelez International worth $203,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,151,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,459,239,000 after buying an additional 1,851,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mondelez International by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,204,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,069,906,000 after acquiring an additional 341,203 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Mondelez International by 14.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,255,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,344,894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,268,639 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Mondelez International by 2.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,215,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,268,242,000 after acquiring an additional 489,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in Mondelez International by 12,057.4% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,574,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,327,000 after purchasing an additional 12,470,573 shares during the period. 78.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mondelez International Trading Up 0.2 %

MDLZ opened at $60.60 on Thursday. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.95 and a 12 month high of $76.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $59.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.26. The firm has a market cap of $81.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 research analysts anticipate that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Mondelez International in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $69.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Mondelez International from $61.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.