Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) Upgraded to "Buy" at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $78.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $66.00.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on MDLZ. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Mondelez International from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Mondelez International from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson downgraded Mondelez International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mondelez International has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.63.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MDLZ traded up $2.33 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $69.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,139,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,076,673. Mondelez International has a 12-month low of $53.95 and a 12-month high of $76.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $66.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.48.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.07. Mondelez International had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 9.90%. The business had revenue of $9.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. Mondelez International's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mondelez International will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Mondelez International's payout ratio is 69.89%.

Institutional Trading of Mondelez International

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mondelez International during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mondelez International in the first quarter worth about $26,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Mondelez International by 376.1% in the first quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 438 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mondelez International during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mondelez International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 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.