Leavell Investment Management Inc. Makes New $204,000 Investment in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,757 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $412,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 31,136 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,300,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the period. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,717 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Choreo LLC raised its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $9,149,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MC opened at $75.92 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $75.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.22. Moelis & Company has a 12 month low of $46.24 and a 12 month high of $82.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.14 and a beta of 1.40.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.79. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 38.49%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MC shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moelis & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.83.

Moelis & Company Profile

Moelis & Company operates as an investment banking advisory firm. It offers advisory services in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and restructurings, capital markets transactions, and other corporate finance matters, as well as strategic, capital structure, and private funds advisory.