KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,700 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,086,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Moelis & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,784,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $69,119,000 after acquiring an additional 12,632 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter worth $9,149,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 129.8% during the third 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 shares of Moelis & Company during the fourth quarter worth $412,000. 91.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MC has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Moelis & Company from $86.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $70.00 price target (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Moelis & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.83.

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Moelis & Company Trading Down 12.0 %

Moelis & Company stock traded down $7.25 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $52.89. 1,330,646 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 702,825. Moelis & Company has a 12 month low of $46.24 and a 12 month high of $82.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $68.50 and a 200 day moving average of $71.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 147.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Ciafone Katherine Pilcher sold 3,515 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $260,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 3,934 shares in the company, valued at $291,116. This represents a 47.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,798. This trade represents a 51.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,721 shares of company stock valued at $1,677,017. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.