Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $62.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $75.00.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Mondelez International from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Mondelez International from $79.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $84.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.13.

Mondelez International Trading Down 0.4 %

MDLZ opened at $57.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $77.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.54. Mondelez International has a 12 month low of $55.97 and a 12 month high of $77.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.43 and a 200 day moving average of $67.20.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.14. Mondelez International had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 10.58%. The business had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mondelez International will post 3.47 EPS for the current year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Mondelez International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.67%.

Mondelez International declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mondelez International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MDLZ. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of Mondelez International by 12,057.4% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,574,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,327,000 after purchasing an additional 12,470,573 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new position in shares of Mondelez International during the third quarter worth $219,045,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Mondelez International by 14.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,255,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,344,894,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268,639 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Mondelez International during the third quarter valued at $159,823,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 173.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,049,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,652,000 after buying an additional 1,935,356 shares during the last quarter. 78.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.