Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) Stock Position Increased by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 68.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,181 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,399 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $9,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Mondelez International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,118,755,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Mondelez International during the 4th quarter valued at $256,832,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,282,937 shares during the period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in shares of Mondelez International in the third quarter worth $219,045,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Mondelez International during the third quarter valued at $159,823,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MDLZ. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of 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 downgraded Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $62.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.50.

Mondelez International Trading Up 0.3 %

Mondelez International stock opened at $67.72 on Friday. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.95 and a 12 month high of $76.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $87.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.88.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.01). Mondelez International had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 16.75%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

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

Mondelez International declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.