Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Given New $66.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) had its price target lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $69.00 to $66.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on MC. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Moelis & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut Moelis & Company from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (up from $58.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research cut Moelis & Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.38.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of MC stock traded down $1.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $63.72. 1,045,640 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 961,921. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.85. Moelis & Company has a twelve month low of $51.06 and a twelve month high of $78.22.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The asset manager reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.09). Moelis & Company had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 38.94%. The company had revenue of $319.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $321.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.53%.

Institutional Trading of Moelis & Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Moelis & Company by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 381,458 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,221,000 after buying an additional 26,800 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the third quarter worth $5,718,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 111.2% during the third quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 99,199 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,075,000 after purchasing an additional 52,229 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Moelis & Company by 714.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 182,147 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,521,000 after acquiring an additional 159,779 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Moelis & Company by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,019,832 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $70,103,000 after acquiring an additional 100,956 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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. 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.