Moelis & Company $MC Shares Sold by Wasatch Advisors LP

Key Points

• Wasatch Advisors reduced its Moelis & Company stake by 13.3%, selling 496,031 shares and retaining 3.25 million shares worth approximately $212.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 91.53% of MC.
• Moelis reported quarterly EPS of $0.63, slightly exceeding estimates, while revenue of $409.39 million rose 12% year over year and beat expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.60 payout and a 3.9% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $73.62 target price.

Wasatch Advisors LP reduced its position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,246,593 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 496,031 shares during the quarter. Moelis & Company comprises about 1.4% of Wasatch Advisors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Wasatch Advisors LP owned 4.13% of Moelis & Company worth $212,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MC. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Moelis & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,857,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Moelis & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,919,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 1,161.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 661,594 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $41,231,000 after purchasing an additional 609,162 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC increased its position in Moelis & Company by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 1,773,735 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $101,103,000 after purchasing an additional 555,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH acquired a new stake in Moelis & Company during the 1st quarter worth approximately $21,701,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Trading Up 4.2%

MC opened at $66.36 on Wednesday. Moelis & Company has a twelve month low of $51.06 and a twelve month high of $78.22. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.81.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The asset manager reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $409.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.27 million. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 39.59%. The firm's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is presently 90.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 4,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.30, for a total value of $336,105.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,078.30. The trade was a 97.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MC. Zacks Research raised shares of Moelis & Company from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (up from $58.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Moelis & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.62.

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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