Principal Securities Inc. Buys 1,639 Shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,006 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,639 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Mondelez International during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Mondelez International in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Mondelez International in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Mondelez International by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Mondelez International in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Dbs Bank cut shares of Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Mondelez International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mondelez International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.74.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

NASDAQ MDLZ opened at $62.17 on Friday. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.95 and a 52-week high of $76.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.94. 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 company has a market capitalization of $80.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.54.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research analysts predict that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mondelez International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $9.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.97%.

Mondelez International 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.