UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Decreases Stock Position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC cut its stake in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) by 8.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145,203 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 13,663 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Moelis & Company worth $9,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Moelis & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,017,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Moelis & Company by 179.2% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 708,140 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $40,265,000 after purchasing an additional 454,478 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Moelis & Company by 322.4% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 98,000 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $6,714,000 after purchasing an additional 74,800 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Moelis & Company by 40.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 246,655 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $14,113,000 after purchasing an additional 71,372 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Moelis & Company by 27.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 293,529 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $16,690,000 after purchasing an additional 62,444 shares during the period. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MC. UBS Group upped their price target on Moelis & Company from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Moelis & Company from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.17.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of MC traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $75.58. 798,083 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 628,467. The company has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 142.60 and a beta of 1.37. Moelis & Company has a 52-week low of $46.24 and a 52-week high of $81.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.27.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.02. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 4.22%. The business had revenue of $273.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $273.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.15) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moelis & Company will post 0.97 EPS for the current year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is presently 452.83%.

About Moelis & Company

Moelis & Company operates as an investment banking advisory firm. It offers advisory services in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and restructurings, capital markets transactions, and other corporate finance matters, as well as strategic, capital structure, and private funds advisory.