Hilton Capital Management LLC Has $2.46 Million Holdings in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Hilton Capital Management LLC raised its position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 42.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,357 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 9,940 shares during the quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC's holdings in Moelis & Company were worth $2,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Moelis & Company by 148.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 822 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $61,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Moelis & Company by 368.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Moelis & Company by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MC traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $59.39. 1,118,576 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 610,919. Moelis & Company has a 1-year low of $46.24 and a 1-year high of $82.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.74 and a beta of 1.43. The company's 50-day moving average price is $72.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.73.

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Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Moelis & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is currently 147.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $92.00 target price (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Moelis & Company from $86.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating 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 Thursday, March 13th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $71.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moelis & Company news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.30, for a total value of $184,437.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,940 shares of the company's stock, valued at $501,762. This represents a 26.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 shares of the company's 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 $94,868.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,798. This trade represents a 51.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,721 shares of company stock valued at $1,677,017. Insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

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.