Entropy Technologies LP Purchases 14,930 Shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 267.8%, owning 20,505 shares valued at approximately $1.2 million as of the last SEC filing.
• Moelis & Company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.7%, despite a dividend payout ratio of 102.36%.
• Moelis reported $0.53 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a 38.1% year-over-year revenue growth.

Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 267.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,505 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 14,930 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in Moelis & Company were worth $1,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MC. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Moelis & Company by 1,551.3% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 644 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position 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 worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Moelis & Company in the first quarter worth about $59,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Moelis & Company by 38.9% in 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 purchased a new position in Moelis & Company in the first quarter worth about $107,000. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Moelis & Company from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley raised Moelis & Company from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Moelis & Company from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.00.

Insider Transactions at Moelis & Company

In related news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of Moelis & Company 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Trading Down 3.1%

MC traded down $2.34 on Friday, hitting $72.01. 569,161 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 873,616. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $66.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.05. The firm has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35 and a beta of 1.70. Moelis & Company has a one year low of $47.00 and a one year high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 38.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.36%.

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.