Virtus Advisers LLC Takes Position in Moelis & Company $MC

Key Points

• Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Moelis & Company, purchasing 10,900 shares valued at approximately $636,000 during the first quarter.
• Moelis & Company reported earnings of $0.53 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.32, with a revenue of $365.38 million, marking a 38.1% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65, with a current annualized dividend yield of 3.6% and a payout ratio of 102.36%.

Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 10,900 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $636,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MC. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $171,713,000 after purchasing an additional 2,006,747 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 494,123 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 457.0% during 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 bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $19,561,000. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $16,396,000. Institutional investors own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Trading Up 0.5%

MC stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $72.88. The company had a trading volume of 430,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 667,021. Moelis & Company has a 52 week low of $47.00 and a 52 week high of $82.89. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $68.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.63. The stock has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.21 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.6%. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is 102.36%.

Insider Activity at Moelis & Company

In related news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,615 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 7,109 shares in the company, valued at $515,544.68. The trade was a 26.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 131 shares in the company, valued at $9,515.84. This trade represents a 97.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Moelis & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Moelis & Company from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Moelis & Company from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.