Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $64.00 to $68.00. The stock had previously closed at $66.13, but opened at $67.69. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Mondelez International shares last traded at $67.53, with a volume of 1,256,329 shares changing hands.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on MDLZ. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Mondelez International in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mondelez International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.20.

Institutional Trading of Mondelez International

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

Mondelez International Trading Up 2.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $87.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $63.07 and a 200-day moving average of $64.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68.

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

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.77%. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.97%.

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

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.