Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC Buys New Shares in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC purchased a new position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,500 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,071,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $2,784,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 935,552 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $69,119,000 after buying an additional 12,632 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $9,149,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Moelis & Company by 129.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,845 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $949,000 after acquiring an additional 7,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $412,000. 91.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

MC stock traded down $1.06 on Wednesday, reaching $47.80. The company had a trading volume of 310,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 713,694. The company's fifty day moving average is $66.28 and its 200 day moving average is $70.62. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.25 and a beta of 1.53. Moelis & Company has a 1 year low of $46.08 and a 1 year high of $82.89.

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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 (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts predict that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.44%. This is a boost from Moelis & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is 147.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MC. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Moelis & Company from $63.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Moelis & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $42.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $94,868.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,798. The trade was a 51.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 9,712 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $718,688.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 209,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,483,390. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,721 shares of company stock worth $1,677,017 over the last ninety days. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.