Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Shares Purchased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 35.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,951 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Moelis & Company were worth $1,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,149,000. Pier Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moelis & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,152,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $6,970,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 804,860 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $55,141,000 after purchasing an additional 96,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in Moelis & Company by 322.4% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 98,000 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $6,714,000 after buying an additional 74,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Moelis & Company stock traded down $2.51 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $68.13. 545,278 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 789,740. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 38.71 and a beta of 1.40. Moelis & Company has a 1 year low of $46.24 and a 1 year high of $82.89. The stock's fifty day moving average is $75.40 and its 200 day moving average is $72.05.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. This is an increase from Moelis & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is currently 147.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 9,712 shares of the firm'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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 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 90 days. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MC shares. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Moelis & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and set a $92.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Moelis & Company from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.83.

Moelis & 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.