Sigma Planning Corp Trims Stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Sigma Planning Corp cut its stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,499 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,681 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MDLZ. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Mondelez International by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 289,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,318,000 after buying an additional 17,815 shares in the last quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Mondelez International by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 93,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,578,000 after acquiring an additional 18,961 shares during the period. Legacy Private Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 3,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Investment Group acquired a new position in Mondelez International in the 4th quarter worth about $313,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Mondelez International by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 2,742,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,787,000 after purchasing an additional 37,897 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Mondelez International Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of MDLZ opened at $63.45 on Thursday. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.95 and a 12-month high of $76.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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 net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 16.75%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders 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 2.96%. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.97%.

Mondelez International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $9.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on MDLZ shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. 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 research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $75.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Mondelez International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.74.

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.