Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 7,350 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 104% compared to the typical volume of 3,603 put options.

Mondelez International Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MDLZ opened at $70.69 on Thursday. Mondelez International has a 12-month low of $60.75 and a 12-month high of $78.54. The company has a market capitalization of $95.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $70.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. Mondelez International had a return on equity of 15.91% and a net margin of 13.77%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Mondelez International’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Mondelez International will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MDLZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Mondelez International from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Mondelez International from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on Mondelez International from $84.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Mondelez International from $87.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.75.

Institutional Trading of Mondelez International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MDLZ. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Mondelez International by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,480,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,520,000 after purchasing an additional 120,665 shares in the last quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning purchased a new stake in shares of Mondelez International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,650,000. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mondelez International by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in shares of Mondelez International by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 5,832,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,468,000 after purchasing an additional 62,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HS Management Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Mondelez International by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. HS Management Partners LLC now owns 1,671,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,036,000 after purchasing an additional 128,490 shares in the last quarter. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mondelez International Company 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.