Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) PT Lowered to $66.00 at Morgan Stanley

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $67.00 to $66.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "underweight" rating on the asset manager's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential downside of 1.46% from the company's current price.

MC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Moelis & Company from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.83.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MC traded down $1.26 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $66.98. 837,208 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 626,035. Moelis & Company has a 12 month low of $38.58 and a 12 month high of $72.80. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $67.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.58. The firm has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of -353.42 and a beta of 1.33.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $264.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.90 million. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 4.38%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 47.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 1.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 495 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.29, for a total transaction of $34,298.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $649,385.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Moelis & Company news, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 5,308 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.87, for a total value of $365,561.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,922.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 495 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.29, for a total value of $34,298.55. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $649,385.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Moelis & Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MC. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 143,741 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $9,848,000 after buying an additional 8,342 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moelis & Company in the third quarter valued at about $185,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the third quarter worth about $49,017,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 30.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,594 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,000. 91.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.