Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.72.

Several research firms have recently commented on MDLZ. Jefferies Financial Group cut Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $75.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Mondelez International in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Mondelez International from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, DZ Bank cut Mondelez International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday.

Mondelez International Trading Up 1.1 %

MDLZ stock opened at $58.45 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $59.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.41. Mondelez International has a fifty-two week low of $53.95 and a fifty-two week high of $76.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.01). Mondelez International had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 17.53%. Analysts expect that Mondelez International will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Mondelez International by 3.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,151,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,459,239,000 after buying an additional 1,851,247 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mondelez International by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,204,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,069,906,000 after buying an additional 341,203 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Mondelez International by 14.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,255,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,344,894,000 after buying an additional 2,268,639 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Mondelez International by 2.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,215,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,268,242,000 after buying an additional 489,068 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Mondelez International by 12,057.4% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,574,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,327,000 after buying an additional 12,470,573 shares during the period. 78.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.