Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Shares Gap Down to $53.99

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $53.99, but opened at $50.55. Moelis & Company shares last traded at $49.99, with a volume of 495,067 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $46.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Moelis & Company from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $54.00 target price (down from $58.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their price target on Moelis & Company from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Moelis & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.80.

Moelis & Company Stock Down 6.9 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of -139.61 and a beta of 1.35.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The asset manager reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $217.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $219.30 million. Moelis & Company had a negative return on equity of 3.82% and a negative net margin of 2.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.05 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently -666.67%.

Insider Activity at Moelis & Company

In other Moelis & Company news, CFO Joseph Simon sold 8,573 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total value of $464,056.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Joseph Simon sold 8,573 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total transaction of $464,056.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 128,277 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.60, for a total value of $6,747,370.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,511,206. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 375,185 shares of company stock worth $20,130,225. Insiders own 6.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moelis & Company

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 96,568 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,420,000 after acquiring an additional 20,413 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Moelis & Company by 5.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 792,729 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $35,776,000 after buying an additional 42,424 shares during the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 75.7% during the 3rd quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 32,538 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,468,000 after acquiring an additional 14,016 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Moelis & Company by 3.2% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,111,200 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $50,144,000 after purchasing an additional 34,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Moelis & Company by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,787,483 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $351,449,000 after acquiring an additional 28,446 shares in the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moelis & Company Company Profile

Moelis & Company operates as an investment banking advisory firm. It offers advisory services in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and restructurings, capital markets transactions, and other corporate finance matters, as well as strategic, capital structure, and private funds advisory.