Mondelez pays EU fine

Article Excerpt

MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL INC. $67 is a buy. The company (Nasdaq symbol MDLZ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $93.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.6; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.mondelezinternational.com) mainly makes snack foods such as cookies, chocolate bars and gum. The company has agreed to settle charges by European Union antitrust regulators that it illegally forced retailers to buy its products from local distributors instead of getting them at cheaper prices from other EU countries. As a result, Mondelez will pay $366 million, which is equal to 28% of the $1.29 billion, or $0.95 a share, that it earned in the first quarter of 2024. The settlement helps cut the company’s risk. Meantime, the stock trades at an attractive 19.1 times the likely 2024 earnings of $3.50 a share. The $1.70 dividend yields 2.5%. Mondelez is a buy. buy…