Rathbones Group PLC Cuts Position in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC has reduced its stake in Mondelez International by 4.6%, selling 86,392 shares and now holds approximately 1,772,700 shares valued at $120.3 million.
• Mondelez International recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.47 to $0.50, reflecting a boost in annualized dividends to $2.00 and a yield of 3.2%.
• Brokerages have shown a positive outlook on Mondelez, with multiple firms adjusting their price targets, including Barclays raising it from $74 to $77, maintaining an "overweight" rating.

Rathbones Group PLC lessened its stake in Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ - Free Report) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,772,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 86,392 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC owned approximately 0.14% of Mondelez International worth $120,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in Mondelez International by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Mondelez International by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 15,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Mondelez International by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Mondelez International by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verus Financial Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Mondelez International by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 5,067 shares of the company's stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MDLZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Mondelez International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $79.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.95.

Mondelez International Trading Up 1.0%

MDLZ stock traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $62.08. The company had a trading volume of 5,848,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,589,398. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.95 and a 52 week high of $76.06. The company has a market cap of $80.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.74, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $66.78 and a 200 day moving average of $65.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ - Get Free Report) last released 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. Mondelez International had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The company had revenue of $8.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. Mondelez International's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 firm 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Mondelez International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Mondelez International's dividend 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.