Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Moelis & Company $MC

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 361,858 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,985 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Moelis & Company were worth $20,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 292.2% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 455 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Moelis & Company by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 416 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Moelis & Company by 153.9% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 419 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

Moelis & Company Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:MC opened at $67.86 on Wednesday. Moelis & Company has a 12 month low of $51.06 and a 12 month high of $78.22. The company has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $66.83 and its 200 day moving average is $65.62.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The asset manager reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.09). Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 38.94% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm had revenue of $319.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $321.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Moelis & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up from $58.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Moelis & Company from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moelis & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.38.

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. 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.