Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,806,832 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,049,498 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $526,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Mondelez International during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mondelez International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mondelez International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Mondelez International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Mondelez International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MDLZ. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Mondelez International from $61.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $78.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.50.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

Shares of MDLZ opened at $67.85 on Tuesday. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.95 and a 1 year high of $76.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.70.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, analysts predict that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.97%.

Mondelez International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $9.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.