Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 18,730,205 Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,730,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,755,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.40% of Mondelez International at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MDLZ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mondelez International by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,437,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,910,477,000 after purchasing an additional 931,776 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Mondelez International by 3.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,151,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,459,239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851,247 shares during 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,354,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $618,458,000 after purchasing an additional 326,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,878,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,077,000 after purchasing an additional 59,098 shares during the period. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MDLZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $61.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Argus cut shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup cut their target price 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. Dbs Bank lowered Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Mondelez International from $69.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.50.

Mondelez International Price Performance

MDLZ stock opened at $67.50 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $87.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The company 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 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.97%.

Mondelez International declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership 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.