Nordea Investment Management AB Reduces Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Nordea Investment Management AB lessened its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 25.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 53,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,129 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $9,280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 49,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,008,000 after buying an additional 6,253 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 29,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,598,000 after buying an additional 9,891 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $18,964,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 415,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,143,000 after acquiring an additional 22,553 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.17, for a total transaction of $87,085.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert A. Schriesheim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.86, for a total transaction of $854,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,781,004.52. This represents a 15.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

NYSE:HLI opened at $142.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82 and a beta of 0.95. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.41 and a 52-week high of $211.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $163.74 and a 200 day moving average of $178.90.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.09. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 24.46% and a net margin of 16.91%.During the same period last year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. Houlihan Lokey’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is presently 36.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $243.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $218.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $196.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.57.

Houlihan Lokey Profile

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.