Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) General Counsel Sells $418,914.00 in Stock

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $418,914.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 6,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $478,854. The trade was a 46.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Moelis & Company Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MC traded down $2.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $71.37. 1,220,221 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 776,971. Moelis & Company has a 12 month low of $46.24 and a 12 month high of $82.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.55 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $75.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.58.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.79. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 38.49% and a net margin of 11.39%. Analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. This is a boost from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Moelis & Company’s payout ratio is presently 147.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moelis & Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Moelis & Company during the third quarter worth about $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Moelis & Company by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 398 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Moelis & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Moelis & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Moelis & Company by 148.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 822 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Moelis & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Moelis & Company from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Moelis & Company from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.83.

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.