Voya Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Moelis & Company $MC

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC has increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 5.9%, now owning 0.44% of the company valued at approximately $20 million.
• Moelis & Company recently reported better-than-expected earnings with $0.53 EPS, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.32, alongside a revenue increase of 38.1% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65, with a dividend yield of 3.5%, despite having a high payout ratio of 102.36%.

Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 343,099 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 19,146 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.44% of Moelis & Company worth $20,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 38.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MC shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Moelis & Company from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Zacks Research raised Moelis & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of MC stock traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $77.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,718,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,556. Moelis & Company has a 52-week low of $47.00 and a 52-week high of $82.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $71.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.71. The stock has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36 and a beta of 1.72.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.21. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 42.72% and a net margin of 14.31%.The firm had revenue of $365.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $269.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 38.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio is 102.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,615 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the director owned 7,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $515,544.68. This represents a 26.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $460,537.60. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 131 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,515.84. This trade represents a 97.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.