Headlands Technologies LLC Buys Shares of 419 Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 419 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Moelis & Company by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,872 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 86,005 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,354,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 52.3% in the 4th quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 283,193 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $20,922,000 after acquiring an additional 97,241 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

MC opened at $48.79 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $66.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.62. Moelis & Company has a 1 year low of $46.24 and a 1 year high of $82.89. The company has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.72 and a beta of 1.53.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.33%. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 147.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MC. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $42.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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. StockNews.com cut Moelis & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Moelis & Company from $63.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.50.

Insider Activity at Moelis & Company

In other news, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 owns 1,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,798. This trade represents a 51.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 9,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $718,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 209,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,483,390. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,721 shares of company stock valued at $1,677,017. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

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.