Hsbc Holdings PLC Lowers Stake in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its stake in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 134,884 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 15,699 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.18% of Moelis & Company worth $10,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter worth $86,062,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,610,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $27,855,000. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $20,720,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Moelis & Company by 252.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 220,770 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $16,310,000 after acquiring an additional 158,200 shares during the period. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moelis & Company Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MC traded up $1.49 on Friday, reaching $54.90. 877,826 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 746,584. The company has a 50-day moving average of $57.17 and a 200-day moving average of $68.46. The firm has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.19 and a beta of 1.53. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.07. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 38.49%. The company had revenue of $306.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $309.67 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 41.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.74%. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is 119.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on MC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Moelis & Company from $86.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and set a $92.00 price objective (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moelis & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.30, for a total transaction of $184,437.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,940 shares of the company's stock, valued at $501,762. This trade represents a 26.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 9,712 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $718,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 209,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,483,390. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,721 shares of company stock worth $1,677,017. 6.40% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.