Mondelez International, Inc. (MDLZ) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.47 on April 14th

Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.47 per share on Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st.

Mondelez International has increased its dividend by an average of 10.4% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. Mondelez International has a payout ratio of 58.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Mondelez International to earn $3.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.7%.

Mondelez International Stock Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ MDLZ opened at $67.72 on Friday. Mondelez International has a twelve month low of $53.95 and a twelve month high of $76.06. 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 stock has a market cap of $87.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.88.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.65 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Mondelez International will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MDLZ. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Mondelez International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Mondelez International in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Mondelez International from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Mondelez International from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $75.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Mondelez International stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) by 92.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,631 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,025 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Mondelez International were worth $874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.