Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Moelis & Company from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $92.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.83.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

MC traded down $2.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.37. 1,220,221 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 776,971. The company has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.55 and a beta of 1.40. Moelis & Company has a 12-month low of $46.24 and a 12-month high of $82.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.50.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.79. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 38.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Moelis & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio is 147.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MC. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 52.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 398 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Moelis & Company by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,420 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,509,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,812 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.