Moelis & Company $MC Shares Purchased by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 32.6% during the first quarter, owning over 2.35 million shares valued at approximately $137.5 million.
• Moelis & Company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.53, surpassing estimates and showing a 38.1% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, equating to a yield of 3.4% and a payout ratio of 102.36%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 32.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,356,893 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 579,529 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 3.00% of Moelis & Company worth $137,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 1,551.3% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 644 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $59,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 buying 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 approximately $107,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of MC traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.12. 216,827 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 890,388. Moelis & Company has a 52 week low of $47.00 and a 52 week high of $82.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.28 and a 200-day moving average of $62.38. The stock has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.18 and a beta of 1.72.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $365.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.57 million. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 42.72%. Moelis & Company's revenue was up 38.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is presently 102.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,615 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total transaction of $189,639.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of the 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 131 shares in the company, valued at $9,515.84. This trade represents a 97.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MC. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Zacks Research raised Moelis & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Moelis & Company from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moelis & Company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.67.

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.