HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 83,034 Shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 9.5% during the first quarter, owning 958,902 shares valued at approximately $55.96 million.
• Moelis & Company reported earnings of $0.53 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.32, and achieved a revenue of $365.38 million during the last quarter.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.5%, with a payout ratio of 102.36%.

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 958,902 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 83,034 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 1.22% of Moelis & Company worth $55,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Moelis & Company by 1,551.3% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 644 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Moelis & Company by 1,460.8% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 796 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Moelis & Company in the first quarter worth $59,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Moelis & Company by 38.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moelis & Company in the first quarter worth $107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

Shares of MC traded down $2.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $72.01. The stock had a trading volume of 569,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,616. The firm has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.95. 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 Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.21. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 42.72% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm had revenue of $365.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 38.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is presently 102.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.64, for a total transaction of $460,537.60. Following the sale, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MC shares. Morgan Stanley raised Moelis & Company from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Moelis & Company from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Moelis & Company from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.