Ameriprise Financial Inc. Buys 95,114 Shares of Moelis & Company $MC

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Moelis & Company by 4.4%, owning approximately 2.88% of the company, valued at $131.91 million after acquiring an additional 95,114 shares.
• Moelis & Company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the latest quarter, significantly exceeding analyst expectations and representing a 38.1% increase in revenue from the same quarter last year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.6%, with a current payout ratio of 102.36%.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,260,345 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 95,114 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 2.88% of Moelis & Company worth $131,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peak Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Moelis & Company by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,567 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Palisades Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Moelis & Company by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 76,730 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,478,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Choreo LLC increased its position in Moelis & Company by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,075 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its position in Moelis & Company by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,373 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, Curated Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Moelis & Company by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,906 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Moelis & Company from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $42.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Moelis & Company from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Zacks Research upgraded Moelis & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.00.

Moelis & Company Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Moelis & Company stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $72.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 430,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 920,724. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.69 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.67. Moelis & Company has a 1-year low of $47.00 and a 1-year high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $365.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $269.57 million. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 42.72% and a net margin of 14.31%.Moelis & Company's revenue was up 38.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The firm 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 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,615 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total transaction of $189,639.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $515,544.68. This trade represents a 26.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.64, for a total value of $460,537.60. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 131 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,515.84. The trade was a 97.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.