Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Moelis & Company reported a quarterly earnings of $0.53 EPS, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.21 and achieving a revenue of $365.38 million, which is significantly higher than the forecasted $269.57 million.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, providing a 3.70% yield, and noted a dividend payout ratio of 119.27%.
• Moelis & Company's stock saw a price drop of 1.1% to $70.26, with analysts maintaining an average rating of "Hold" and a target price of $66.00.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The asset manager reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.21, Zacks reports. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 42.72% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 38.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of MC traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $72.57. 213,775 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 955,173. The company has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58 and a beta of 1.64. The firm's 50 day moving average is $62.73 and its 200-day moving average is $63.43. Moelis & Company has a 52 week low of $47.00 and a 52 week high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.64, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 97.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Moelis & Company

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the 1st quarter worth about $264,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,799 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 42,080 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Moelis & Company by 37.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,828 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,499,000 after acquiring an additional 11,692 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MC. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Moelis & Company from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Moelis & Company from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.