Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes $10.16 Million Position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 137,491 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $10,158,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned 0.18% of Moelis & Company at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 47.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,597 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $130,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $146,000. 91.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moelis & Company Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:MC traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.26. 882,616 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 818,872. Moelis & Company has a 52 week low of $46.24 and a 52 week high of $82.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.51 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's 50 day moving average is $75.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.08.

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

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a positive change from Moelis & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. 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 4.05%. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 147.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $92.00 price target (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Moelis & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Moelis & Company from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.83.

Insider Transactions at Moelis & Company

In other news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,551 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.30, for a total transaction of $184,437.30. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $90,798. This trade represents a 51.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,721 shares of company stock worth $1,677,017. 6.40% of the stock is currently 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.