Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,097,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 136,492 shares during the quarter. Moelis & Company accounts for 1.2% of Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned 9.47% of Moelis & Company worth $524,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Moelis & Company by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 398 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 148.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 822 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Moelis & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

MC opened at $51.68 on Friday. Moelis & Company has a 12 month low of $46.24 and a 12 month high of $82.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.37 and a beta of 1.53.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.79. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 38.49%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.03%. Moelis & Company’s payout ratio is currently 147.73%.

Insider Transactions at Moelis & Company

In related news, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 9,712 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $718,688.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 209,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,483,390. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.30, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 26.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,721 shares of company stock worth $1,677,017 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $42.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Moelis & Company from $86.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $92.00 target price (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Moelis & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Moelis & Company from $63.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.50.

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.