Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 689,181 Shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 89.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,764 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 689,181 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.11% of Moelis & Company worth $4,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MC. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Moelis & Company by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 195,814 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $14,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 344,467 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $25,449,000 after buying an additional 11,097 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Moelis & Company by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,405 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Moelis & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $146,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Moelis & Company by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 15,951 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

NYSE MC traded up $0.63 during trading on Monday, reaching $56.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 694,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 788,677. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $55.45 and a 200 day moving average of $65.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 32.17 and a beta of 1.64. Moelis & Company has a one year low of $47.00 and a one year 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $306.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.67 million. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 38.49% and a net margin of 11.39%. Moelis & Company's revenue for the quarter was up 41.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 119.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MC. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $42.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Moelis & Company from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moelis & Company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.83.

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.