Invesco Ltd. Sells 25,142 Shares of Moelis & Company $MC

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its holdings in Moelis & Company by 7.3%, owning approximately 320,103 shares worth $18.68 million after selling 25,142 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have issued varying ratings on Moelis & Company, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increasing their price target from $69.00 to $89.00, indicating an overall trend of positive sentiment among several research firms.
• Moelis & Company reported quarterly earnings of $0.53 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations significantly, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 with a yield of 3.7%.

Invesco Ltd. decreased its position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 320,103 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 25,142 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.41% of Moelis & Company worth $18,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Moelis & Company

In related news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,515.84. This represents a 97.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moelis & Company Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of NYSE:MC traded up $3.2220 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.6020. 829,003 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 751,375. Moelis & Company has a 12 month low of $47.00 and a 12 month high of $82.89. The firm has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $67.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.57.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $365.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $269.57 million. During the same quarter 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. On average, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is 102.36%.

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.