Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Director Sells $854,300.00 in Stock

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Director Robert Schriesheim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.86, for a total value of $854,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,781,004.52. The trade was a 15.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 0.2%

Houlihan Lokey stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $173.11. The stock had a trading volume of 47,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 540,063. The firm has a market cap of $12.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $178.73 and a 200 day moving average of $187.57. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.99 and a 52-week high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $717.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $696.72 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 24.46% and a net margin of 16.91%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is 36.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on HLI. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $216.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $218.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,305,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,260,000 after purchasing an additional 13,750 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,133,000 after purchasing an additional 84,757 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 3.0% in the second quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,225,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $220,613,000 after buying an additional 36,144 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the third quarter worth $230,335,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,041,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,506,000 after acquiring an additional 41,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

About Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded in 1972 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company specializes in advisory services across a broad range of transaction types and financial matters. Since its founding, Houlihan Lokey has grown to serve corporations, financial sponsors, and government entities worldwide, providing expertise in complex and high-stakes engagements.

The firm’s core service offerings include mergers and acquisitions advisory, capital markets advisory, financial restructuring and distressed M&A, and valuation and fairness opinions.