Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Stake Lessened by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 131,200 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 15,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.18% of Moelis & Company worth $7,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Moelis & Company by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,787,483 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $351,449,000 after acquiring an additional 28,446 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 0.7% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 7,279,209 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $328,511,000 after purchasing an additional 49,291 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Moelis & Company by 3.2% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,111,200 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $50,144,000 after buying an additional 34,740 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Moelis & Company by 32.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 927,705 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $41,867,000 after buying an additional 228,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Moelis & Company by 5.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 792,729 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $35,776,000 after buying an additional 42,424 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Moelis & Company

In related news, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 128,277 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.60, for a total value of $6,747,370.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,810 shares in the company, valued at $8,511,206. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Moelis & Company news, insider Navid Mahmoodzadegan sold 50,772 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $2,747,272.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 64,463 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,488,092.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 128,277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.60, for a total transaction of $6,747,370.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 161,810 shares in the company, valued at $8,511,206. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 448,405 shares of company stock valued at $24,117,609. 6.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MC traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $56.01. 463,479 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 633,253. Moelis & Company has a 1 year low of $34.03 and a 1 year high of $58.67. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $53.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.57. The firm has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -294.79 and a beta of 1.39.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The asset manager reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.11. Moelis & Company had a negative return on equity of 0.12% and a negative net margin of 1.33%. The business had revenue of $217.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $219.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.05 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is currently -1,263.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on MC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Moelis & Company from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $46.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $54.00 price objective (down from $58.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Moelis & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.80.

Moelis & Company Profile

Moelis & Company operates as an investment banking advisory firm. It offers advisory services in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and restructurings, capital markets transactions, and other corporate finance matters, as well as strategic, capital structure, and private funds advisory.