Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of MC Q1 Earnings

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) – Zacks Research upped their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Moelis & Company in a research report issued on Tuesday, February 25th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the asset manager will earn $0.51 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.41. The consensus estimate for Moelis & Company’s current full-year earnings is $2.97 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Moelis & Company’s Q3 2025 earnings at $0.68 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.95 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.50 EPS.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Moelis & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued 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 lifted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moelis & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.83.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MC opened at $70.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.84. Moelis & Company has a 52 week low of $46.24 and a 52 week high of $82.89. The company has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of 40.12 and a beta of 1.40.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. This is an increase from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 147.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 9,712 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $718,688.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 209,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,483,390. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.30, for a total value of $184,437.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,940 shares in the company, valued at $501,762. The trade was a 26.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moelis & Company

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter worth $1,037,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 62.8% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 19,960 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 7,697 shares during the last quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Moelis & Company by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 76,526 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,654,000 after purchasing an additional 6,511 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Moelis & Company by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 175,795 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,988,000 after buying an additional 30,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Moelis & Company by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 39,600 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,926,000 after buying an additional 15,400 shares during the period. 91.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.