Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.83.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $86.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Moelis & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

MC opened at $60.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $69.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.30. Moelis & Company has a fifty-two week low of $46.24 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.79. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 38.49% and a net margin of 11.39%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Moelis & Company’s payout ratio is 147.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moelis & Company

In other news, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $94,868.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,227 shares in the company, valued at $90,798. The trade was a 51.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 9,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $718,688.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 209,235 shares in the company, valued at $15,483,390. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,721 shares of company stock worth $1,677,017. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Moelis & Company

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 398 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 1,551.3% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 644 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 148.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 822 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

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.