Junto Capital Management LP Invests $31.53 Million in Moelis & Company $MC

Key Points

• Junto Capital Management acquired 481,954 shares of Moelis & Company, valued at approximately $31.53 million, giving it a 0.62% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 91.53% of the company.
• Moelis & Company reported quarterly EPS of $0.63, slightly above estimates, while revenue rose 12% year over year to $409.39 million. The stock recently traded at $65.43, down 4.9%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, equivalent to $2.60 annually and a 4.0% yield. Analysts maintain an overall “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $73.62.

Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 481,954 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $31,529,000. Junto Capital Management LP owned about 0.62% of Moelis & Company as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Moelis & Company by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,489 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 416 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 3,433 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 16,955 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 8.0% in the second quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,690 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Trading Down 4.9%

MC opened at $65.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.84. Moelis & Company has a 1 year low of $51.06 and a 1 year high of $78.22. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $67.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.48.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The asset manager reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.01. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 39.59% and a net margin of 14.50%.The business had revenue of $409.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. Moelis & Company's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Moelis & Company from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Moelis & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moelis & Company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.62.

Insider Transactions at Moelis & Company

In related news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 1,881 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.06, for a total value of $129,901.86. Following the sale, the director owned 7,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $527,134.98. The trade was a 19.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.30, for a total transaction of $336,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,078.30. This trade represents a 97.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 6.29% 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. The company was founded by Kenneth David Moelis, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, Jeffrey Raich and Elizabeth Ann Crain in July 2007 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

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