Moelis & Company $MC Shares Purchased by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 73.8% during Q1, acquiring an additional 40,907 shares for a total of 96,316 shares valued at approximately $5.6 million.
• Moelis & Company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.53, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.32, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 38.1%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a payout ratio of 102.36%, expected to be paid on September 18th.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 73.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96,316 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 40,907 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Moelis & Company worth $5,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MC. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 1,551.3% during 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 increased its holdings 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 valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Moelis & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $59,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 38.9% during the 1st 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 acquired a new position in shares of Moelis & Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $107,000. Institutional investors own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MC. Zacks Research upgraded Moelis & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Moelis & Company from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. 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 report on Friday, July 11th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Moelis & Company from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.00.

Insider Transactions at Moelis & Company

In related news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 131 shares in the company, valued at $9,515.84. This represents a 97.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moelis & Company Trading Down 1.6%

MC traded down $1.1110 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $70.2290. The company's stock had a trading volume of 778,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 803,152. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a PE ratio of 27.65 and a beta of 1.70. Moelis & Company has a fifty-two week low of $47.00 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89.

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

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 102.36%.

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.