Highland Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Highland Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ - Free Report) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 97,109 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,429 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Mondelez International were worth $5,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in Mondelez International by 12,057.4% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,574,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $926,327,000 after purchasing an additional 12,470,573 shares during the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Mondelez International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $219,045,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,268,639 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Mondelez International in the third quarter worth about $159,823,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Mondelez International by 173.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,049,440 shares of the company's stock worth $224,652,000 after acquiring an additional 1,935,356 shares during the last quarter. 78.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mondelez International Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of MDLZ traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $58.15. The company had a trading volume of 5,341,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,112,855. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $77.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.54. Mondelez International, Inc. has a one year low of $55.97 and a one year high of $77.20. The company's fifty day moving average price is $60.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.77.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.14. Mondelez International had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 17.53%. The business had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Mondelez International's payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Mondelez International from $84.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Mondelez International in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mondelez International currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.18.

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.