Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Stock Price

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $86.00 to $89.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Moelis & Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Moelis & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MC opened at $76.59 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $66.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.84. The stock has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.85. Moelis & Company has a one year low of $47.00 and a one year high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The asset manager reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $356.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.14 million. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 45.62% and a net margin of 15.98%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 86.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moelis & Company

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in Moelis & Company during the second quarter valued at about $46,762,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 1,161.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 661,594 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $41,231,000 after purchasing an additional 609,162 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 32.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,356,893 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $137,548,000 after purchasing an additional 579,529 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Moelis & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,248,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Moelis & Company by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,304,180 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $235,654,000 after purchasing an additional 458,575 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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. The company was founded by Kenneth David Moelis, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, Jeffrey Raich and Elizabeth Ann Crain in July 2007 and is headquartered in New York, NY.