Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) CEO Sells $718,688.00 in Stock

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 9,712 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $15,483,390. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Moelis & Company Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE MC opened at $71.37 on Friday. Moelis & Company has a twelve month low of $46.24 and a twelve month high of $82.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $75.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.58. The company has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 40.55 and a beta of 1.40.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MC. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Moelis & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Moelis & Company from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Moelis & Company from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moelis & Company

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MC. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 398 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 148.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 822 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. 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.