Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 82,742 Shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,567,067 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 82,742 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Mondelez International worth $115,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Mondelez International by 12,057.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,574,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,327,000 after acquiring an additional 12,470,573 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Mondelez International by 40.2% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 16,726,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,094,557,000 after purchasing an additional 4,794,746 shares during the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Mondelez International during the third quarter worth $219,045,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Mondelez International in the third quarter valued at about $159,823,000. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

MDLZ opened at $59.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $79.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $65.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.38. Mondelez International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $59.10 and a 1 year high of $77.20.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.14. Mondelez International had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 10.58%. The business had revenue of $9.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. Mondelez International’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Mondelez International, Inc. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MDLZ. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Mondelez International from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Mondelez International in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $78.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.07.

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.