Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Reduce" from Brokerages

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Reduce" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $59.83.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moelis & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $92.00 price objective (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $42.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Moelis & Company from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moelis & Company

In other news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.30, for a total value of $184,437.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,940 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $501,762. This represents a 26.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moelis & Company

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MC. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Moelis & Company by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 398 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,420 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,509,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its stake in Moelis & Company by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Moelis & Company by 2.4% during the first quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,567 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palisades Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Moelis & Company by 0.3% during the first quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 76,730 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,478,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MC traded down $3.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.83. The company had a trading volume of 912,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 767,262. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.29 and a beta of 1.66. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $55.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.60. Moelis & Company has a one year low of $47.00 and a one year high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.07. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 38.49%. The company had revenue of $306.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. The company's revenue was up 41.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 119.27%.

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.