Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Upgraded at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• Moelis & Company received an upgrade to a "hold" rating by BMO Capital Markets, signifying a shift in analyst sentiment for the stock.
• Several firms, including Zacks Research and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, have raised their ratings and price targets for Moelis & Company, with a consensus rating currently at "Hold" and an average target price of $70.29.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings report showed strong performance, with earnings per share of $0.53, exceeding expectations, and a revenue increase of 38.1% year-over-year.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MC. Zacks Research raised shares of Moelis & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moelis & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.29.

Moelis & Company Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE MC opened at $68.34 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $72.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.48. Moelis & Company has a 1 year low of $47.00 and a 1 year high of $82.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.91 and a beta of 1.77.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 42.72%. The firm had revenue of $365.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 38.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moelis & Company

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moelis & Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 1.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,305,688 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $484,720,000 after acquiring an additional 158,373 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 4.7% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,080,123 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $191,953,000 after acquiring an additional 137,824 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 3.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,862,337 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $178,381,000 after acquiring an additional 89,143 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 4.1% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,845,605 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $177,338,000 after acquiring an additional 112,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 6.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,396,230 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $149,333,000 after acquiring an additional 135,885 shares in the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moelis & Company Company Profile

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.

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