Merit Financial Group LLC Has $2.96 Million Stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Merit Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ - Free Report) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,516 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,515 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Mondelez International were worth $2,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Mondelez International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mondelez International during the third quarter worth $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Mondelez International by 100.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 400 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mondelez International in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Mondelez International during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 78.32% of the company's stock.

Mondelez International Price Performance

Shares of Mondelez International stock traded down $0.14 on Monday, hitting $57.86. The company had a trading volume of 12,663,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,683,674. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.97 and a 52 week high of $77.20. The company has a market cap of $77.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.11 billion. Mondelez International had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 10.58%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. Research analysts expect that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Mondelez International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Mondelez International declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $9.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MDLZ. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Mondelez International in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $84.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Mondelez International from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Mondelez International from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Mondelez International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mondelez International has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.93.

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.