Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) Now Covered by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $69.00 price objective on the stock.

MDLZ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup cut their target price on Mondelez International from $78.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.70.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

Shares of MDLZ opened at $64.95 on Monday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $61.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.99. The firm has a market cap of $84.01 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.01). Mondelez International had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 16.75%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mondelez International will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mondelez International declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $9.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.97%.

Institutional Trading of Mondelez International

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd grew its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 430.0% in the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 92,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,520,000 after acquiring an additional 74,975 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Mondelez International by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 289,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,318,000 after buying an additional 17,815 shares during the last quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 93,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,578,000 after buying an additional 18,961 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 3,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Investment Group purchased a new stake in Mondelez International during the 4th quarter valued at $313,000. 78.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.