Millennium Management LLC Increases Holdings in Moelis & Company $MC

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 311.4% in the first quarter, owning 465,677 shares valued at approximately $27.2 million.
• Moelis & Company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.53, significantly exceeding estimates, with revenue climbing by 38.1% year-over-year to $365.38 million.
• The firm has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65, which reflects an annualized yield of 3.4%, despite a dividend payout ratio of 102.36%.

Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 311.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 465,677 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 352,490 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.59% of Moelis & Company worth $27,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Moelis & Company by 214.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,942,299 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $171,713,000 after acquiring an additional 2,006,747 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 457.0% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 485,238 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,318,000 after acquiring an additional 398,129 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Moelis & Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $19,561,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Moelis & Company in the first quarter worth $10,670,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,305,688 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $484,720,000 after buying an additional 158,373 shares during the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moelis & Company Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of MC traded up $1.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $76.02. The company had a trading volume of 57,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 887,959. Moelis & Company has a 52-week low of $47.00 and a 52-week high of $82.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.95 and a beta of 1.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.47.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.53 EPS 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 business had revenue of $365.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 38.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Moelis & Company from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Moelis & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One equities 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.64, for a total transaction of $460,537.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 131 shares in the company, valued at $9,515.84. This trade represents a 97.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,615 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $515,544.68. The trade was a 26.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

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.