Argus Downgrades Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) to Hold

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) was downgraded by investment analysts at Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on MDLZ. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $61.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Mondelez International from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $76.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mondelez International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.74.

Mondelez International Price Performance

Shares of MDLZ stock opened at $64.70 on Friday. Mondelez International has a 52-week low of $53.95 and a 52-week high of $76.06. The stock has a market cap of $83.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $58.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.89.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.01). Mondelez International had a return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 12.68%. As a group, analysts forecast that Mondelez International will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Mondelez International announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Mondelez International

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MDLZ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Mondelez International in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,118,755,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Mondelez International by 12,057.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,574,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,327,000 after purchasing an additional 12,470,573 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Mondelez International by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 37,529,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,241,637,000 after purchasing an additional 4,572,555 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Mondelez International in the 4th quarter valued at about $256,832,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Mondelez International by 2,560.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,411,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,749,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282,937 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.32% of the company’s stock.

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.