Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Decreases Position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lowered its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 429,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 77,371 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 0.57% of Moelis & Company worth $31,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,420 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Moelis & Company by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP grew its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 4,464 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 0.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 62,570 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,287,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moelis & Company

In related news, COO Ciafone Katherine Pilcher sold 3,515 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $260,110.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 3,934 shares in the company, valued at $291,116. This trade represents a 47.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.30, for a total value of $184,437.30. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,940 shares in the company, valued at $501,762. This trade represents a 26.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,721 shares of company stock worth $1,677,017. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

NYSE:MC opened at $57.88 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $70.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 32.89 and a beta of 1.43. Moelis & Company has a 12 month low of $46.24 and a 12 month high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.49%. Moelis & Company’s payout ratio is 147.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 price target (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Moelis & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Moelis & Company from $86.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.83.

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.