Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 23,878 Shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 707,226 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 23,878 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.94% of Moelis & Company worth $52,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MC. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 81,534 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $6,024,000 after buying an additional 2,248 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $1,441,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,277,000. Walleye Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 4,112.5% in the 4th quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 35,343 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,611,000 after purchasing an additional 34,504 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 143,951 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MC traded down $1.30 during trading on Monday, reaching $53.51. 817,008 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 746,866. The stock has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.40 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $57.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.44. Moelis & Company has a 52-week low of $47.00 and a 52-week high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.07. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 38.49% and a net margin of 11.39%. The business had revenue of $306.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.67 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. The company's revenue was up 41.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is 119.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 9,712 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $718,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 209,235 shares in the company, valued at $15,483,390. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,551 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $501,762. This trade represents a 26.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,721 shares of company stock worth $1,677,017. 6.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MC has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Moelis & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $42.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $92.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Moelis & Company from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.83.

Moelis & 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.