Lazard Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,255,760 shares of the company’s stock after selling 541,479 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.24% of Mondelez International worth $194,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDLZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,437,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,910,477,000 after purchasing an additional 931,776 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Mondelez International by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 37,529,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,241,637,000 after purchasing an additional 4,572,555 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Mondelez International by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,913,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,721,954,000 after purchasing an additional 708,523 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 20,074,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,198,491,000 after buying an additional 975,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mondelez International in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,118,755,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on MDLZ shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Mondelez International from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Dbs Bank downgraded Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.55.

Mondelez International Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:MDLZ opened at $66.37 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $66.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.95 and a 12 month 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.07. Mondelez International had a return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 12.68%. The firm had revenue of $9.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. Mondelez International’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.89%.

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.