AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 155,162 Shares of Moelis & Company $MC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 405.1% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 155,162 shares, bringing its total ownership to 193,466 shares valued at $11.29 million.
• Moelis & Company reported earnings per share of $0.53 for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analyst estimates, with total revenue of $365.38 million, a year-over-year increase of 38.1%.
• The company announced a $0.65 quarterly dividend, with a payout ratio of 102.36% and an annualized yield of 3.6%, to be paid on September 18th.

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 405.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 193,466 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 155,162 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.25% of Moelis & Company worth $11,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MC. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Moelis & Company by 1,460.8% during 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. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Moelis & Company in the 1st quarter worth $59,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Moelis & Company by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moelis & Company in the 1st quarter worth $107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MC. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Moelis & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MC traded down $0.28 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $74.20. The company had a trading volume of 626,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,869. The firm's fifty day moving average is $71.44 and its 200 day moving average is $62.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a PE ratio of 29.21 and a beta of 1.72. Moelis & Company has a twelve month low of $47.00 and a twelve month high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $269.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 38.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.36%.

Insider Transactions at Moelis & Company

In related news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.64, for a total transaction of $460,537.60. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 131 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,515.84. This represents a 97.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,615 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total transaction of $189,639.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $515,544.68. This represents a 26.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.40% of the stock is 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.