Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Shares Acquired by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,927 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,432 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Moelis & Company were worth $1,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,420 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Moelis & Company by 1.3% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,812 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Moelis & Company by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its position in Moelis & Company by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP grew its position in Moelis & Company by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 4,464 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Moelis & Company stock opened at $59.39 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $72.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.68. Moelis & Company has a 52 week low of $46.24 and a 52 week high of $82.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.74 and a beta of 1.43.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) 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 forecast that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. This is a positive change from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moelis & Company

In related news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 5,661 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 value 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. The trade was a 46.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Ciafone Katherine Pilcher sold 3,515 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 $260,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 3,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,116. The trade was a 47.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,721 shares of company stock valued at $1,677,017 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 price target (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report 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. 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $86.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.83.

About Moelis & Company

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.