The Goldman Sachs Group Has Lowered Expectations for Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Stock Price

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) had its price objective cut by The Goldman Sachs Group from $86.00 to $75.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the asset manager's stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $70.00 price target (down from $100.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com cut Moelis & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.83.

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Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MC traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.39. 1,118,576 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 610,425. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.74 and a beta of 1.43. Moelis & Company has a one year low of $46.24 and a one year high of $82.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $72.29 and a 200 day moving average of $71.68.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts predict 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. This is an increase from Moelis & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.73%.

Insider Transactions at Moelis & Company

In other news, COO Ciafone Katherine Pilcher sold 3,515 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $260,110.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 3,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $291,116. This trade represents a 47.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $94,868.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,227 shares in the company, valued at $90,798. This trade represents a 51.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,721 shares of company stock valued at $1,677,017 over the last quarter. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moelis & Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Moelis & Company by 52.5% during 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. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake 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 valued at $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Moelis & Company by 18.1% during 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 raised its stake in Moelis & Company by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Company Profile

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.