Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires New Position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 715,472 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $49,017,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,594 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in Moelis & Company in the third quarter valued at about $75,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Moelis & Company by 22.8% during the third quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,440 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $647,000 after buying an additional 1,750 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 0.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 372,919 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,549,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 193.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,081 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the period. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MC opened at $66.98 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of -352.53 and a beta of 1.33. Moelis & Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.58 and a fifty-two week high of $72.80.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.07. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 4.38%. The company had revenue of $264.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,263.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Moelis & Company from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price target (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moelis & Company

In other news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 495 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.29, for a total transaction of $34,298.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $649,385.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 495 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.29, for a total transaction of $34,298.55. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,372 shares in the company, valued at $649,385.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 5,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.87, for a total value of $365,561.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 86 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,922.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Moelis & Company

Moelis & Company operates as an investment banking advisory firm. It offers advisory services in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and restructurings, capital markets transactions, and other corporate finance matters, as well as strategic, capital structure, and private funds advisory.