HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 48,233 Shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,306,646 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,233 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Mondelez International worth $78,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MDLZ. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 12,057.4% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,574,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,327,000 after purchasing an additional 12,470,573 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mondelez International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $256,832,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 2,560.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,411,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,749,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282,937 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in shares of Mondelez International in the third quarter valued at approximately $219,045,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 14.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,255,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,344,894,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268,639 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDLZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on Mondelez International from $69.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Dbs Bank downgraded Mondelez International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price 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. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Mondelez International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.74.

Mondelez International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MDLZ opened at $64.98 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $84.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. Mondelez International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.95 and a fifty-two week high of $76.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.50 and a 200-day moving average of $65.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is 54.97%.

Mondelez International announced that its board has initiated 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.