Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Sells 49,316 Shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Key Points

• Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. reduced its stake in Mondelez International by 14.4%, holding 293,438 shares worth approximately $19.91 million following the sale of 49,316 shares during the 1st quarter.
• Mondelez International reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.73, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $8.98 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 7.7%.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.47 to $0.50, set to be paid on October 14th, reflecting a 3.3% yield.

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. cut its holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ - Free Report) by 14.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 293,438 shares of the company's stock after selling 49,316 shares during the quarter. Mondelez International accounts for approximately 1.4% of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.'s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $19,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MDLZ. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Mondelez International by 92.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $874,000 after buying an additional 7,025 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in Mondelez International by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 334,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,009,000 after buying an additional 3,706 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Mondelez International by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 26,010 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,554,000 after buying an additional 10,279 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mondelez International during the 4th quarter valued at $669,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Group raised its stake in Mondelez International by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 5,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. 78.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MDLZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $72.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Mondelez International from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Mondelez International from $79.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Mondelez International in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mondelez International currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.95.

Mondelez International Price Performance

Mondelez International stock traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $62.08. The stock had a trading volume of 5,848,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,589,398. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm's 50 day moving average is $66.86 and its 200 day moving average is $65.53. Mondelez International, Inc. has a one year low of $53.95 and a one year high of $76.06.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $8.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. Mondelez International had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 15.35%. Mondelez International's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Mondelez International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Mondelez International's payout ratio is currently 68.86%.

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.