Moran Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Moelis & Company $MC

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management LLC has acquired 37,832 shares of Moelis & Company, valued at approximately $2.36 million, signaling growing interest in the asset manager.
• Moelis & Company has seen a substantial increase in institutional investor stakes, with firms like Vanguard and Charles Schwab boosting their holdings significantly in recent months.
• Several brokerages have increased their price targets for Moelis & Company, with Wells Fargo raising its target from $50 to $64 and others setting targets between $74 and $80.

Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 37,832 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,358,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,305,688 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $484,720,000 after buying an additional 158,373 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 214.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,942,299 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $171,713,000 after acquiring an additional 2,006,747 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 32.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,356,893 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $137,548,000 after acquiring an additional 579,529 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Moelis & Company by 4.4% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,260,345 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $131,914,000 after acquiring an additional 95,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Moelis & Company by 8.5% during the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 1,264,200 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $73,779,000 after purchasing an additional 99,313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Moelis & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,615 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $189,639.80. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.64, for a total value of $460,537.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 131 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

MC opened at $68.64 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.78. The company has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.02 and a beta of 1.77. Moelis & Company has a 1 year low of $47.00 and a 1 year high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.21. The company 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 company's revenue was up 38.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is currently 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.