By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC – Free Report) by 22.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,927 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,432 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Moelis & Company were worth $1,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 72.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 85,202 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,837,000 after acquiring an additional 35,713 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 24.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,068 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 1.3% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,812 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 5.9% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,514 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 4.7% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 137,400 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,413,000 after acquiring an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,551 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.30, for a total transaction of $184,437.30. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $501,762. The trade was a 26.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 9,712 shares of Moelis & Company 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 $718,688.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 209,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,483,390. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,721 shares of company stock valued at $1,677,017 over the last quarter. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.
Moelis & Company Stock Down 1.3 %
Shares of NYSE MC opened at $59.39 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $72.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.68. Moelis & Company has a 52-week low of $46.24 and a 52-week high of $82.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.74 and a beta of 1.43.
Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. This is a boost from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 147.73%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts have recently weighed in on MC shares. StockNews.com downgraded Moelis & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $70.00 price target (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $86.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.83.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Moelis & Company
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.
See Also
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