Kovack Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,102 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MDLZ. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Mondelez International by 12,057.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,574,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,327,000 after purchasing an additional 12,470,573 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Mondelez International by 2,560.0% during the 4th 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 acquired a new position in shares of Mondelez International during the third quarter valued at approximately $219,045,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 14.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,255,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,344,894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,268,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Mondelez International in the third quarter valued at approximately $159,823,000. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MDLZ shares. Piper Sandler downgraded Mondelez International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $75.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $69.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DZ Bank cut shares of Mondelez International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.74.

Mondelez International Price Performance

NASDAQ:MDLZ opened at $64.25 on Friday. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.95 and a 52 week high of $76.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $59.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.71. The company has a market capitalization of $83.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.01). Mondelez International had a return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 12.68%. Equities analysts expect that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.97%.

Mondelez International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.