Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL Cuts Stock Holdings in Moelis & Company $MC

Key Points

• Timucuan Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Moelis & Company by 29.1%, selling 581,453 shares and now holding 1,417,062 shares, which represent 2.5% of its total holdings.
• Moelis & Company recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.53, exceeding analyst estimates, alongside a year-over-year revenue increase of 38.1% to $365.38 million.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.6%, despite a payout ratio of 102.36%.

Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL lessened its stake in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 29.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,417,062 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 581,453 shares during the quarter. Moelis & Company comprises 2.5% of Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL owned 1.80% of Moelis & Company worth $82,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MC. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Moelis & Company by 1,460.8% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 796 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Moelis & Company in the first quarter valued at about $59,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moelis & Company in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE MC traded down $0.97 on Friday, reaching $71.97. The company had a trading volume of 612,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 652,414. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 1.70. The company's fifty day moving average is $69.28 and its 200 day moving average is $62.50. Moelis & Company has a 52-week low of $47.00 and a 52-week 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $365.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $269.57 million. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 42.72% and a net margin of 14.31%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 38.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 102.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Moelis & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Moelis & Company from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Moelis & Company from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $42.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moelis & Company news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,615 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 7,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at $515,544.68. The trade was a 26.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.64, for a total value of $460,537.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,515.84. The trade was a 97.98% 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.