Mondelez International’s (MDLZ) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $75.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MDLZ. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $61.00 price objective (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Mondelez International in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $79.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mondelez International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.76.

Mondelez International Trading Up 2.2 %

Mondelez International stock opened at $58.41 on Thursday. Mondelez International has a 52 week low of $55.97 and a 52 week high of $77.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $9.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.11 billion. Mondelez International had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 10.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Mondelez International will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mondelez International

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Mondelez International by 5.9% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 103,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,794,000 after acquiring an additional 5,777 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mondelez International during the second quarter valued at $19,061,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Mondelez International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,059,000. Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its position in shares of Mondelez International by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 119,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,776,000 after purchasing an additional 7,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 17,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,321,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.