Legato Capital Management LLC Makes New $324,000 Investment in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Key Points

• Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Moelis & Company, purchasing 5,547 shares valued at approximately $324,000 during the first quarter.
• Moelis & Company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, which demonstrates strong financial health and commitment to shareholders.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.53, significantly surpassing estimates and marking a 38.1% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.

Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,547 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 398 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake 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 buying an additional 745 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the first quarter valued at $59,000. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on MC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Moelis & Company from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley raised Moelis & Company from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Moelis & Company from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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 sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.00.

Moelis & Company Trading Down 1.0%

MC traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $70.56. 105,031 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 956,136. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $62.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82 and a beta of 1.64. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $365.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $269.57 million. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 45.30% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 38.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is presently 102.36%.

Moelis & Company 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.