Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Stock Holdings Boosted by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 138,400 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Moelis & Company were worth $10,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,420 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,509,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Moelis & Company by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its position in Moelis & Company by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP grew its position in Moelis & Company by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 4,464 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Moelis & Company by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 62,570 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,287,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

Moelis & Company Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MC opened at $60.56 on Friday. Moelis & Company has a twelve month low of $46.24 and a twelve month high of $82.89. The company has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.52.

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

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 147.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $86.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (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, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (down from $100.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moelis & Company

In other news, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 shares of the 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 $94,868.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,798. This represents a 51.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 9,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $718,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 209,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,483,390. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,721 shares of company stock valued at $1,677,017. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moelis & Company 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.