377,028 Shares in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 377,028 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $27,855,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.50% of Moelis & Company at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MC. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 52.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,420 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,509,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Choreo LLC lifted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP grew its stake in Moelis & Company by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 4,464 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

Shares of Moelis & Company stock traded up $2.43 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.80. 204,536 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 729,789. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $60.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.32. The stock has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.57 and a beta of 1.53. Moelis & Company has a 12-month low of $46.24 and a 12-month high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 forecast 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.83%. This is an increase 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 9,712 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 $718,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 209,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,483,390. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 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 $94,868.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,798. This represents a 51.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,721 shares of company stock valued at $1,677,017. 6.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MC. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $42.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moelis & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $92.00 price objective (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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 note on Friday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moelis & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.50.

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.