NewEdge Wealth LLC Reduces Stock Position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

NewEdge Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,741 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 8,819 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Moelis & Company worth $3,675,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,590,316 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $108,973,000 after buying an additional 10,698 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 922,920 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $63,229,000 after purchasing an additional 16,830 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 804,860 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $55,141,000 after purchasing an additional 96,720 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 768,945 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $56,810,000 after purchasing an additional 53,473 shares during the period. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 440,330 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,167,000 after purchasing an additional 5,844 shares during the period. 91.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

Moelis & Company stock opened at $70.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.12 and a beta of 1.40. Moelis & Company has a 1 year low of $46.24 and a 1 year high of $82.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.84.

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

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. This is a positive change from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Moelis & Company’s payout ratio is currently 147.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $92.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moelis & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Ciafone Katherine Pilcher sold 3,515 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 3,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,116. The trade was a 47.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 5,661 shares of the business’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 $418,914.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 6,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,854. This represents a 46.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,721 shares of company stock worth $1,677,017. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moelis & 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.