Brokerages Set Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Target Price at $69.67

Key Points

• Moelis & Company has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from eight brokerages, with price targets ranging from $64.00 to $90.00.
• In the latest quarter, Moelis & Company reported earnings of $0.53 per share, exceeding estimates and showing a 38.1% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing a 3.4% yield despite a payout ratio of 102.36%.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the eight research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.6667.

MC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Moelis & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

MC traded up $0.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $76.66. 76,074 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 889,134. Moelis & Company has a 1 year low of $47.00 and a 1 year high of $82.89. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $71.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22 and a beta of 1.72.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.21. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 42.72% and a net margin of 14.31%.The firm had revenue of $365.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $269.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share. Moelis & Company's revenue was up 38.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 102.36%.

Insider Activity

In other Moelis & Company news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.64, for a total transaction of $460,537.60. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,515.84. The trade was a 97.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,615 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $189,639.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $515,544.68. This represents a 26.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moelis & Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 89.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 1,551.3% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 644 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 1,460.8% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 796 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.53% of the company's stock.

About Moelis & Company

Moelis & Co operates as a holding company. It engages in the provision of financial advisory, capital raising and asset management services to a client base including corporations, governments, sovereign wealth funds and financial sponsors. The firm focuses on clients including large public multinational corporations, middle market private companies, financial sponsors, entrepreneurs and governments.