Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $79.07.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Mondelez International in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Mondelez International from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Mondelez International from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Mondelez International from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Institutional Trading of Mondelez International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Mondelez International by 5.4% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Mondelez International by 29.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 9,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Mondelez International by 10.2% in the second quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 644,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,201,000 after purchasing an additional 59,609 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 32.8% in the second quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $531,000 after buying an additional 1,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 0.4% during the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 134,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,791,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. 78.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mondelez International Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:MDLZ opened at $59.39 on Friday. Mondelez International has a 52 week low of $59.10 and a 52 week high of $77.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $65.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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

Mondelez International declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

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

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.