Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Argus

Argus lowered shares of Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on MDLZ. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $61.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Mondelez International from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Mondelez International from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.74.

Mondelez International Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MDLZ opened at $64.70 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.87. Mondelez International has a 1 year low of $53.95 and a 1 year high of $76.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $83.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.54.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (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 anticipate that Mondelez International will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is 54.97%.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mondelez International

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MDLZ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mondelez International by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,437,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,910,477,000 after acquiring an additional 931,776 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,151,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,459,239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851,247 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Mondelez International by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 37,529,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,241,637,000 after buying an additional 4,572,555 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Mondelez International by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,913,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,721,954,000 after buying an additional 708,523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Mondelez International by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 20,074,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,198,491,000 after buying an additional 975,929 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

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.