Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe Sells 5,661 Shares

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 5,661 shares of the business'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 $418,914.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 6,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $478,854. The trade was a 46.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Moelis & Company Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of MC traded down $1.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $68.97. The company had a trading volume of 1,397,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 795,446. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 39.19 and a beta of 1.40. Moelis & Company has a one year low of $46.24 and a one year high of $82.89. The company's fifty day moving average price is $75.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.81.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.79. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 38.49%. Analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. This is an increase from Moelis & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MC shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.83.

Institutional Trading of Moelis & Company

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company during the third quarter valued at $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 398 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 148.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 822 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.53% 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.