EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Buys 45,945 Shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. boosted its stake in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) by 172.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 72,599 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 45,945 shares during the period. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Moelis & Company were worth $5,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Moelis & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $2,784,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Moelis & Company by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 935,552 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $69,119,000 after acquiring an additional 12,632 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $9,149,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Moelis & Company by 129.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,845 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 7,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter worth $412,000. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

MC opened at $63.02 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $71.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 35.81 and a beta of 1.43. Moelis & Company has a 52 week low of $46.24 and a 52 week high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 38.49% and a net margin of 11.39%. Equities analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost 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 4.13%. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 147.73%.

Insider Activity at Moelis & Company

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MC. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price 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. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moelis & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.83.

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.