Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $69.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus cut shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group cut their price target on Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Mondelez International from $61.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.70.

Mondelez International Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of MDLZ stock opened at $64.95 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.99. The stock has a market cap of $84.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. Mondelez International has a 12 month low of $53.95 and a 12 month high of $76.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 12.68%. On average, research analysts expect that Mondelez International will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.97%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mondelez International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Mondelez International during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mondelez International during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Mondelez International during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Mondelez International in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Mondelez International in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

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.