Analysts Set Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Target Price at $50.80

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $50.80.

Several research firms have recently commented on MC. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Moelis & Company from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $53.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Moelis & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th.

Moelis & Company Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MC opened at $51.73 on Friday. Moelis & Company has a 12-month low of $33.87 and a 12-month high of $58.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $54.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -143.69 and a beta of 1.35.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The asset manager reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.05. Moelis & Company had a negative return on equity of 3.82% and a negative net margin of 2.89%. The firm had revenue of $214.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.98 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Moelis & Company will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently -666.67%.

Insider Transactions at Moelis & Company

In other Moelis & Company news, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 128,277 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was 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 approximately $8,511,206. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,040 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.59, for a total value of $55,733.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 128,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.60, for a total transaction of $6,747,370.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 161,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,511,206. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 375,185 shares of company stock worth $20,130,225. 6.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moelis & Company

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Peak Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Moelis & Company by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,715 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,374,385 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $189,404,000 after acquiring an additional 334,620 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Moelis & Company by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Winslow Asset Management Inc. now owns 174,963 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,821,000 after acquiring an additional 2,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 18,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 6,065 shares during the period. 91.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Moelis & Company

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.