Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 9,897 Shares of Moelis & Company $MC

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. significantly increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 57.2% during the first quarter, holding 27,208 shares valued at approximately $1.59 million as of its latest filing.
• Other institutional investors also boosted their positions, with MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust increasing their stake by 1,551.3%, bringing their total holdings to 644 shares valued at $38,000.
• Moelis & Company's quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $0.53, exceeding estimates, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share with a yield of 3.6%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 57.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,208 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 9,897 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Moelis & Company were worth $1,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MC. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased 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 buying an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased 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 buying an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Moelis & Company in the first quarter worth $59,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 buying an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moelis & Company in the first quarter worth $107,000. 91.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

Shares of Moelis & Company stock traded down $0.97 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $71.97. The company had a trading volume of 612,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 628,671. Moelis & Company has a one year low of $47.00 and a one year high of $82.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.41. The firm has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 1.72.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moelis & Company

In related news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,615 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director owned 7,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $515,544.68. This trade represents a 26.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.64, for a total value of $460,537.60. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,515.84. This represents a 97.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.