Federated Hermes Inc. Makes New Investment in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. purchased 32,423 shares of Moelis & Company, valued at approximately $1.89 million, marking a significant first-quarter investment.
• Moelis & Company has an upcoming quarterly dividend of $0.65, reflecting a yield of 3.7%, with a payout ratio currently at 102.36%.
• Analysts are optimistic about Moelis & Company's performance, with several firms upgrading their ratings and target prices, indicating potential for growth in the stock.

Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 32,423 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,892,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MC. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 38.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 76,298 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,067,000 after buying an additional 17,322 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc purchased a new position in Moelis & Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $334,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 64.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 253,658 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $14,803,000 after acquiring an additional 99,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company during the first quarter valued at about $3,331,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Trading Up 0.7%

MC stock traded up $0.48 on Friday, hitting $69.97. 402,267 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 946,260. The stock has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55 and a beta of 1.70. Moelis & Company has a 1-year low of $47.00 and a 1-year high of $82.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.51 and a 200-day moving average of $63.27.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.21. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 42.72% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $365.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $269.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 38.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moelis & Company

In other Moelis & Company news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.64, for a total transaction of $460,537.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,515.84. The trade was a 97.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Moelis & Company from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.00.

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.