Moelis & Company $MC Stake Lowered by Azora Capital LP

Azora Capital LP trimmed its stake in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) by 70.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 223,470 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 526,888 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP’s holdings in Moelis & Company were worth $15,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MC. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new position in Moelis & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $375,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Moelis & Company by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 772,399 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $55,087,000 after buying an additional 142,113 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its position in Moelis & Company by 111.2% in the third quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 99,199 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,075,000 after buying an additional 52,229 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its position in Moelis & Company by 15.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,659 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Moelis & Company by 100.4% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 62,305 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,444,000 after buying an additional 31,212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of MC stock opened at $51.73 on Friday. Moelis & Company has a 1 year low of $47.00 and a 1 year high of $78.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.27.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.37. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 41.67% and a net margin of 15.36%.The company had revenue of $487.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $430.17 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MC. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Monday, January 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Moelis & Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moelis & Company news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 2,765 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.23, for a total transaction of $172,065.95. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 4,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,967.63. This trade represents a 35.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

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. The company was founded by Kenneth David Moelis, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, Jeffrey Raich and Elizabeth Ann Crain in July 2007 and is headquartered in New York, NY.