Osamu Watanabe Sells 2,765 Shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Stock

Key Points

  • Insider sale: General Counsel Osamu Watanabe sold 2,765 shares on Feb. 19 at an average price of $62.23 for $172,065.95, trimming his holding by 35.7% to 4,981 shares (valued ~ $309,968).
  • Earnings beat: Moelis reported Q4 EPS of $1.13 versus $0.76 expected and revenue of $487.94M versus $430.17M, a 11.2% year-over-year revenue increase and strong ROE of 43.19%.
  • Dividend announced: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share ($2.60 annualized) for a 4.3% yield, with an ex-dividend date of Feb. 17 and a payout ratio of 88.44%.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) General Counsel Osamu Watanabe sold 2,765 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.23, for a total transaction of $172,065.95. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 4,981 shares in the company, valued at $309,967.63. This represents a 35.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:MC opened at $60.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.87. Moelis & Company has a fifty-two week low of $47.00 and a fifty-two week high of $78.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $71.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.66.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.37. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 43.19%. The business had revenue of $487.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $430.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend




The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Moelis & Company's payout ratio is 88.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moelis & Company

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Moelis & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 89.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 416 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 153.9% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 419 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MC. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Moelis & Company from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Moelis & Company in a report on Monday, January 26th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Moelis & Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moelis & Company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.33.

Get Our Latest Report on MC

About Moelis & Company

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

Insider Buying or Selling at Moelis & Company?
Sign-up to receive InsiderTrades.com's daily insider buying and selling report for Moelis & Company and related companies.
Free Insider Buying and Selling Newsletter
Enter your email address below to receive InsiderTrades.com's daily insider buying and selling report.
From Our Partners

Most Read This Month

Recent Articles