Gabelli Funds LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Gabelli Funds LLC cut its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,650 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,400 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Moelis & Company were worth $1,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased 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 purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

MC opened at $51.68 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.54. The stock has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.79. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 38.49%. Equities analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $94,868.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,227 shares in the company, valued at $90,798. This represents a 51.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Ciafone Katherine Pilcher sold 3,515 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $260,110.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,721 shares of company stock worth $1,677,017 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Moelis & Company from $86.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut Moelis & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $63.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $42.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.