Jennison Associates LLC Raises Stock Position in Moelis & Company $MC

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 935,531 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,475 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Moelis & Company were worth $64,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MC. Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the third quarter worth about $6,105,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 1.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 962,778 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $68,665,000 after buying an additional 17,220 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 381,458 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,221,000 after buying an additional 26,800 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 354.1% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 42,789 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,052,000 after buying an additional 33,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 23.3% during the third quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 240,796 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $17,174,000 after buying an additional 45,458 shares during the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moelis & Company News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Moelis & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share (annualized yield ~4.0%), reinforcing cash return to shareholders and supporting income-focused demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Management emphasized continued M&A momentum and strategic hiring to drive growth despite a tougher macro backdrop — a message that could support medium-term fee generation if deal activity sustains. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released its Q1 earnings materials, slide deck and full earnings-call transcript; useful for analysts to re-model revenue mix and margins but not a new catalyst by itself. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 results missed expectations: EPS $0.50 vs. consensus around $0.53 (and some estimates at $0.59), and revenue came in at $319.8M versus consensus ~ $410.8M — the revenue shortfall and softer profitability are the primary near-term reasons the stock is down. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and independent bearish commentary (e.g., Mispriced Assets summary) highlights concerns around valuation, deal pipelines and possible pressure on future fees — reinforcing downside sentiment until revenue drivers prove durable. Read More.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 2,765 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $309,967.63. This trade represents a 35.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Moelis & Company Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of MC opened at $65.09 on Friday. Moelis & Company has a twelve month low of $51.06 and a twelve month high of $78.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $59.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.87.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The asset manager reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.09). Moelis & Company had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 38.79%. The business had revenue of $319.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $321.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. Moelis & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moelis & Company will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MC. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Moelis & Company from $90.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Moelis & Company from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Moelis & Company from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America began 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.89.

Moelis & 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. 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.