Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) Shares Bought by Costello Asset Management INC

Key Points

• Costello Asset Management INC increased its stake in Mondelez International by 16.3%, owning 52,542 shares valued at $3,565,000, making Mondelez its 17th largest position.
• Mondelez International declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, up from the previous $0.47, representing a 3.1% yield for shareholders.
• Analysts have mostly rated Mondelez International as a "Moderate Buy", with a consensus price target of $71.95 following several ratings upgrades throughout the year.

Costello Asset Management INC grew its stake in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ - Free Report) by 16.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,542 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,353 shares during the quarter. Mondelez International makes up about 1.4% of Costello Asset Management INC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Costello Asset Management INC's holdings in Mondelez International were worth $3,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mondelez International by 15.0% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,768 shares of the company's stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in shares of Mondelez International by 23.6% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 44,786 shares of the company's stock worth $3,039,000 after acquiring an additional 8,544 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Mondelez International by 1.1% during the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 98,444 shares of the company's stock worth $6,679,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Canopy Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Mondelez International by 20.7% during the first quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 16,800 shares of the company's stock worth $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 2,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mondelez International by 58.2% during the first quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 10,883 shares of the company's stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 4,002 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDLZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson lowered shares of Mondelez International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Mondelez International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Mondelez International from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Friday, June 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.95.

Mondelez International Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of MDLZ stock opened at $63.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $67.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.39. Mondelez International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.95 and a twelve month high of $76.06. The company has a market capitalization of $82.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a PEG ratio of 4.84 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.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Mondelez International had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 9.84%. The business had revenue of $8.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Mondelez International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Mondelez International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.86%.

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.

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