Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Shares Bought by Hilton Capital Management LLC

Hilton Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) by 42.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,357 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,940 shares during the period. Hilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moelis & Company were worth $2,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Moelis & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,433,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,784,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Moelis & Company by 13.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,149,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 129.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

Moelis & Company Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of Moelis & Company stock opened at $58.57 on Friday. Moelis & Company has a twelve month low of $46.24 and a twelve month high of $82.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 33.28 and a beta of 1.43.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 147.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MC shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moelis & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Moelis & Company from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (down from $100.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 9,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $718,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 209,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,483,390. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $94,868.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,798. The trade was a 51.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,721 shares of company stock valued at $1,677,017 in the last ninety days. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.