Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 8,790 Shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,617 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,790 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $2,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 12,470,573 shares during the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in Mondelez International in the third quarter worth about $219,045,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Mondelez International by 14.2% during the third 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. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Mondelez International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $159,823,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Mondelez International by 173.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,049,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,652,000 after buying an additional 1,935,356 shares during the last quarter. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MDLZ. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Mondelez International in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped their target price on Mondelez International from $78.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Mondelez International from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.81.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MDLZ opened at $56.31 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.13. The stock has a market cap of $75.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.97 and a 12 month high of $77.20.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.11 billion. Mondelez International had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 17.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.67%.

Mondelez International announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.