Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday. The company traded as high as $68.25 and last traded at $67.9080, with a volume of 13,933 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $67.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MDLZ shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Mondelez International in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on Mondelez International from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Mondelez International in a research note on Friday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on Mondelez International from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Mondelez International in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.30.

Mondelez International Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $87.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.48.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dirk Van de Put sold 129,285 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.04, for a total value of $8,537,981.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,197,203 shares in the company, valued at $79,063,286.12. This represents a 9.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MDLZ. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mondelez International by 309.6% during the third quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $693,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mondelez International in the 3rd quarter worth $214,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 938,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,291,000 after buying an additional 68,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 787 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 78.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mondelez International Company Profile

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.