Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $77.00 and last traded at $76.70, with a volume of 5075 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.83.

Moelis & Company Trading Up 17.4 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.51. The firm has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.77 and a beta of 1.33.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $273.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.58 million. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.15) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 0.97 EPS for the current year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 452.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moelis & Company

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 7,190,221 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $408,836,000 after buying an additional 47,365 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 5.2% during the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,118,245 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $63,483,000 after buying an additional 55,402 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 4.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 755,541 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $42,960,000 after acquiring an additional 29,532 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Moelis & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,017,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Moelis & Company by 179.2% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 708,140 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,265,000 after acquiring an additional 454,478 shares during the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moelis & Company Company Profile

Moelis & Company operates as an investment banking advisory firm. It offers advisory services in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and restructurings, capital markets transactions, and other corporate finance matters, as well as strategic, capital structure, and private funds advisory.