Hills Bank & Trust Co Buys 1,112 Shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,726 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,112 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $2,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 12,470,573 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mondelez International in the 4th quarter worth $256,832,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Mondelez International by 2,560.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,411,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,749,000 after buying an additional 3,282,937 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in shares of Mondelez International in the third quarter worth about $219,045,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Mondelez International by 14.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MDLZ. Dbs Bank cut shares of Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Mondelez International from $78.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho raised their target price 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. Argus downgraded shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.74.

Mondelez International Price Performance

MDLZ stock opened at $64.31 on Friday. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.95 and a 12 month high of $76.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.42. The stock has a market cap of $83.19 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last released 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share 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. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.97%.

Mondelez International declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership 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.