Alliancebernstein L.P. Grows Holdings in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,005 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Moelis & Company were worth $6,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axiom Investors LLC DE boosted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 52.3% in the 4th quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 283,193 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $20,922,000 after buying an additional 97,241 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 398 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $4,933,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,610,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

Moelis & Company Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE MC opened at $50.54 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.71 and a beta of 1.53. Moelis & Company has a 12-month low of $46.24 and a 12-month high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.14%. This is a positive change from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 147.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $92.00 target price (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $42.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Moelis & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Moelis & Company from $86.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $94,868.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,798. This trade represents a 51.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,551 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.30, for a total value of $184,437.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,940 shares in the company, valued at $501,762. This represents a 26.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,721 shares of company stock valued at $1,677,017 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

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.