Praxis Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Moelis & Company $MC

Praxis Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) by 23.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,190 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,590 shares during the period. Praxis Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Moelis & Company were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the 1st quarter worth $50,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the 1st quarter worth $107,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the 1st quarter worth $124,000. Finally, Petrus Trust Company LTA purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the 1st quarter worth $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

NYSE MC opened at $67.65 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.63 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $71.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.94. Moelis & Company has a 1-year low of $47.00 and a 1-year high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $365.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $269.57 million. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 42.72% and a net margin of 14.31%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 38.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.18 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 102.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Moelis & Company from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “moderate buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. Zacks Research lowered Moelis & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Moelis & Company from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Moelis & Company in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.64, for a total value of $460,537.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,515.84. This represents a 97.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $189,639.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $515,544.68. This trade represents a 26.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.40% 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.