Moelis & Company $MC Shares Acquired by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) by 158.9% during the first quarter, owning approximately 0.21% of the company valued at $9.44 million.
• Moelis & Company reported a significant earnings per share of $0.53 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.32, with a revenue increase of 38.1% year-over-year.
• The company has received positive ratings from analysts, including a strong-buy upgrade from Zacks Research, indicating confidence in its growth potential.

Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 158.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 161,749 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 99,274 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.21% of Moelis & Company worth $9,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MC. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Moelis & Company by 214.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,942,299 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $171,713,000 after purchasing an additional 2,006,747 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Moelis & Company by 215.5% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 723,384 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $53,444,000 after buying an additional 494,123 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Moelis & Company by 457.0% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 485,238 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,318,000 after acquiring an additional 398,129 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the 1st quarter worth $19,561,000. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter worth $16,396,000. 91.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moelis & Company Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE MC traded down $1.16 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.05. 219,647 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 911,473. The business's 50-day moving average price is $69.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.44. Moelis & Company has a twelve month low of $47.00 and a twelve month high of $82.89. The company has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58 and a beta of 1.72.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.21. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 42.72%. The business had revenue of $365.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $269.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 38.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,515.84. The trade was a 97.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.