Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Insider Christopher Callesano Sells 1,282 Shares

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 $90,798. This represents a 51.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Moelis & Company Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of Moelis & Company stock opened at $71.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 40.55 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $75.73 and its 200 day moving average is $71.58. Moelis & Company has a 1 year low of $46.24 and a 1 year high of $82.89.

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

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Moelis & Company’s payout ratio is presently 147.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moelis & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $92.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Moelis & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MC. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Moelis & Company by 193.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,081 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 0.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 372,919 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,549,000 after buying an additional 2,053 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the third quarter worth about $75,000. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 30.6% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,594 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 1,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the third quarter worth about $49,017,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

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.