Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 236,377 Shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its holdings in Mondelez International by 9.9%, acquiring an additional 236,377 shares to reach a total of 2,614,934 shares.
• Mondelez International's quarterly earnings reported on July 29th showed $0.73 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, with revenues of $8.98 billion, a 7.7% increase from the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.47, with a projected yield of 3.2%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ - Free Report) by 9.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,614,934 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 236,377 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.20% of Mondelez International worth $177,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mondelez International in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Mondelez International in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Mondelez International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Mondelez International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Mondelez International by 376.1% during the first quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 438 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MDLZ shares. Barclays raised their target price on Mondelez International from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Mondelez International from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Mondelez International in a research note on Monday, April 28th. DA Davidson cut shares of Mondelez International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.95.

Mondelez International Price Performance

MDLZ stock opened at $62.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $80.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $67.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.38. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.95 and a 12-month high of $76.06.

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

Mondelez International Increases Dividend

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

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.

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