Madison Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in Moelis & Company $MC

Key Points

• Madison Asset Management reduced its stake in Moelis & Company by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 66,083 shares and ending with 1.22 million shares valued at about $83.7 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Moelis is mixed to cautious: analysts currently have an average “Hold” rating, with a consensus price target of $71.89, while recent target changes included cuts from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
• Moelis reported Q1 earnings that missed expectations, posting $0.50 EPS versus the $0.59 consensus, though revenue still rose 4.3% year over year; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, implying a 4.1% yield.

Madison Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,218,178 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 66,083 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC owned about 1.56% of Moelis & Company worth $83,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 42.7% in the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 14,700 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,010,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 87.9% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,427 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 8,889 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 94,930 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $6,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 6,453 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Moelis & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $90.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.89.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of MC stock opened at $64.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.03, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.87. Moelis & Company has a 52-week low of $51.06 and a 52-week high of $78.22.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The asset manager reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $319.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $321.51 million. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 38.94%. Moelis & Company's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is currently 93.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moelis & Company news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 2,765 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.23, for a total value of $172,065.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 4,981 shares in the company, valued at $309,967.63. This represents a 35.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

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. 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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