Traders Buy Large Volume of Mondelez International Put Options (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 7,350 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 104% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,603 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MDLZ shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Mondelez International from $87.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Mondelez International from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $84.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Mondelez International from $82.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Mondelez International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mondelez International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDLZ. Golden State Equity Partners grew its stake in shares of Mondelez International by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 4,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in Mondelez International by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Mondelez International by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 448,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,126,000 after buying an additional 22,752 shares during the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund bought a new stake in Mondelez International during the 3rd quarter worth about $10,299,000. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders grew its holdings in shares of Mondelez International by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 5,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter. 78.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mondelez International Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:MDLZ traded up $0.42 on Tuesday, reaching $72.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,802,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,877,096. The firm has a market cap of $97.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $70.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.79. Mondelez International has a 1-year low of $60.75 and a 1-year high of $78.54.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. Mondelez International had a return on equity of 15.91% and a net margin of 13.77%. The business had revenue of $9.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. Mondelez International’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mondelez International will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mondelez International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Mondelez International’s payout ratio is 46.83%.

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.