Azora Capital LP Purchases New Shares in Moelis & Company $MC

Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 750,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $46,762,000. Moelis & Company comprises about 2.1% of Azora Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Azora Capital LP owned about 0.96% of Moelis & Company at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Moelis & Company by 3.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,862,337 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $178,381,000 after purchasing an additional 89,143 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,934 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,305,000 after buying an additional 3,823 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 17.4% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 24,250 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,511,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company during the second quarter worth approximately $2,140,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 331.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 67,023 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,177,000 after buying an additional 51,480 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of MC opened at $69.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.90. Moelis & Company has a twelve month low of $47.00 and a twelve month high of $82.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $65.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.94.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The asset manager reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $356.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.14 million. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 45.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Moelis & Company’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Moelis & Company from $80.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Moelis & Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moelis & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.57.

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.