Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Stock Holdings Lessened by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership trimmed its stake in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 429,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 77,371 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Moelis & Company were worth $31,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 922,920 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $63,229,000 after purchasing an additional 16,830 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Moelis & Company by 75.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 87,213 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,975,000 after purchasing an additional 37,375 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 129.8% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,845 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 7,819 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Moelis & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

Shares of Moelis & Company stock opened at $57.88 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $70.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.89 and a beta of 1.43. Moelis & Company has a fifty-two week low of $46.24 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last posted 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 return on equity of 38.49% and a net margin of 11.39%. On average, analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.49%. This is an increase from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 147.73%.

Insider Transactions at Moelis & Company

In related news, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 9,712 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 $718,688.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 209,235 shares in the company, valued at $15,483,390. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 5,661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $418,914.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 6,471 shares in the company, valued at $478,854. This trade represents a 46.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,721 shares of company stock worth $1,677,017 over the last ninety days. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MC shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $86.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a 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 Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.83.

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.