KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $30.92 Million in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 514,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,919,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AXQ Capital LP raised its stake in Mondelez International by 200.2% in the 4th quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 27,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,613,000 after acquiring an additional 18,010 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Mondelez International by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,323,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,706,000 after acquiring an additional 21,473 shares during the period. Plancorp LLC raised its stake in Mondelez International by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 9,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in Mondelez International by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 126,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,570,000 after acquiring an additional 40,117 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Mondelez International in the 4th quarter valued at about $213,000. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. DZ Bank cut Mondelez International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus lowered Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Mondelez International from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mondelez International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.74.

Mondelez International Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ MDLZ opened at $64.51 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 current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.35 and a 200-day moving average of $65.13.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 12.68%. Sell-side analysts expect that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is 54.97%.

Mondelez International announced that its board has authorized a share 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 generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.