Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Equities researchers at Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.66% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Mondelez International from $61.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Argus downgraded Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.70.

Mondelez International Stock Down 0.4 %

Mondelez International stock opened at $64.69 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $83.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. 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 is $61.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.91. Mondelez International has a 1-year low of $53.95 and a 1-year high of $76.06.

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

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

Institutional Trading of Mondelez International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MDLZ. United Bank grew its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 22,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 2,549 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mondelez International during the third quarter worth about $615,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Mondelez International by 82.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 1,272 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Mondelez International by 11.6% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 249,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,349,000 after buying an additional 25,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mondelez International by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 12,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.