Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Reduces Holdings in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership trimmed its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 429,338 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 77,371 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 0.57% of Moelis & Company worth $31,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,147,315 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $601,924,000 after buying an additional 99,766 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,590,316 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $108,973,000 after purchasing an additional 10,698 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $86,062,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 935,552 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $69,119,000 after purchasing an additional 12,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 768,945 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $56,810,000 after purchasing an additional 53,473 shares during the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Moelis & Company Stock Performance

MC traded up $1.56 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $59.94. The stock had a trading volume of 171,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 935,629. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.06 and a beta of 1.43. Moelis & Company has a twelve month low of $46.24 and a twelve month high of $82.89. The company's 50-day moving average price is $69.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.38.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last announced 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, equities analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Moelis & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is 147.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MC. StockNews.com lowered Moelis & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $70.00 price target (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moelis & Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 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 transaction of $94,868.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,798. This trade represents a 51.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 9,712 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $718,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 209,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,483,390. This 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. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

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.