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

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

MC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.83.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of MC stock opened at $71.37 on Friday. Moelis & Company has a 52-week low of $46.24 and a 52-week high of $82.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.66. The company has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.55 and a beta of 1.40.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Moelis & Company

In related news, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $94,868.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,798. This represents a 51.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,551 shares of the company’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 transaction of $184,437.30. Following the sale, the director now 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,721 shares of company stock worth $1,677,017. 6.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moelis & Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Moelis & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Moelis & Company by 148.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 822 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 491 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.