Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Insider Sells $94,868.00 in Stock

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 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 $94,868.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,227 shares in the company, valued at $90,798. This represents a 51.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

MC stock opened at $71.37 on Monday. Moelis & Company has a 52 week low of $46.24 and a 52 week high of $82.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $75.73 and its 200 day moving average is $71.74. The firm has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.55 and a beta of 1.40.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. This is a positive change from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 147.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on MC shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 cut shares of Moelis & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moelis & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moelis & Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 62.8% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 19,960 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 7,697 shares during the last quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Moelis & Company by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 76,526 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,654,000 after acquiring an additional 6,511 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Moelis & Company by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 175,795 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,988,000 after acquiring an additional 30,592 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Moelis & Company by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 39,600 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,926,000 after acquiring an additional 15,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Moelis & Company by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,671 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,970,000 after acquiring an additional 7,847 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

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.