West Family Investments Inc. Sells 2,358 Shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

West Family Investments Inc. cut its position in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 41.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,349 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,358 shares during the quarter. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Mondelez International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MDLZ opened at $67.74 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.60. The stock has a market cap of $87.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.95 and a 1-year 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.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is presently 54.97%.

Mondelez International announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MDLZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. DZ Bank lowered Mondelez International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Mondelez International from $61.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $78.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.74.

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.