Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Stock Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Moelis shares rose above their 50-day moving average, trading as high as $69.86 versus a 50-day average of $67.16. The stock’s 200-day average is $64.55.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious stance, with a consensus “Hold” rating and a $73.62 price target; ratings include two Buys, seven Holds and one Sell.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.63 EPS and $409.39 million in revenue, while announcing a $0.65 quarterly dividend yielding about 3.8%. An insider also sold nearly all of their shares, while institutional investors own 91.53% of the stock.

Shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.16 and traded as high as $69.86. Moelis & Company shares last traded at $68.4180, with a volume of 877,011 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (up from $58.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Moelis & Company from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Zacks Research raised Moelis & Company from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Moelis & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.62.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.55. The company has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.84.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The asset manager reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $409.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.27 million. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 39.59% and a net margin of 14.50%.Moelis & Company's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 4,850 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.30, for a total value of $336,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,078.30. This trade represents a 97.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moelis & Company

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Moelis & Company in the second quarter worth about $88,000. American Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Moelis & Company during the 2nd quarter worth $270,000. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Moelis & Company in the second quarter worth $1,217,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Moelis & Company in the second quarter worth $109,065,000. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in Moelis & Company by 12.5% in the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 6,931 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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. The company was founded by Kenneth David Moelis, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, Jeffrey Raich and Elizabeth Ann Crain in July 2007 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

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