Freedom Broker Upgrades Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) to Buy

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Freedom Broker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $71.00 price target on the stock. Freedom Broker‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 9.33% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also commented on MDLZ. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Mondelez International in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mondelez International from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. HSBC increased their price target on Mondelez International from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mondelez International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.83.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

NASDAQ MDLZ opened at $64.94 on Friday. Mondelez International has a 52-week low of $51.20 and a 52-week high of $66.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.34.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.07. Mondelez International had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $9.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Mondelez International will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mondelez International

In other news, CEO Dirk Van de Put sold 133,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.08, for a total value of $8,559,806.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,326,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,001,351.04. This represents a 9.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MDLZ. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mondelez International by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 354,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,527,000 after purchasing an additional 17,248 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Mondelez International by 10.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,131,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,228,000 after acquiring an additional 103,778 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. raised its position in Mondelez International by 21.5% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 235,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,613,000 after purchasing an additional 41,601 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,243,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,928,000 after purchasing an additional 494,996 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 58.6% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 141,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,177,000 after purchasing an additional 52,244 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

About Mondelez International

Mondelez International, Inc (NASDAQ: MDLZ) is a global snack-food company that develops, manufactures, markets and sells branded products in categories including biscuits, chocolate, baked snacks, cheese and grocery items. Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Oreo, Ritz, Chips Ahoy!, belVita, CLIF, Cadbury, Milka, Toblerone and Trident.

The company sells its products through retailers, wholesalers, e-commerce channels and other distribution networks. Mondelez serves consumers in more than 150 countries, with operations and brands tailored to markets across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Mondelez was formed in 2012 when Kraft Foods separated its global snack-food business from its North American grocery operations.