Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) COO Ciafone Katherine Pilcher Sells 3,515 Shares

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) COO Ciafone Katherine Pilcher sold 3,515 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $260,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 3,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,116. The trade was a 47.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Moelis & Company Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE MC traded down $2.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $71.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,220,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 776,971. 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 $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 40.55 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.58.

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

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 147.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Moelis & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Moelis & Company from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moelis & Company

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Moelis & Company by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 19,960 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,475,000 after buying an additional 7,697 shares in the last quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Moelis & Company by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 76,526 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,654,000 after buying an additional 6,511 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 175,795 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,988,000 after acquiring an additional 30,592 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 63.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 39,600 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,926,000 after acquiring an additional 15,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,671 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,970,000 after acquiring an additional 7,847 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.53% 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.