Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 10,042 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 28.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 25,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,042 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $4,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HLI. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 14.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 49,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,008,000 after purchasing an additional 6,253 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 50.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter valued at $18,964,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 22,553 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,033,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE HLI opened at $136.66 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.55. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.30 and a 12 month high of $211.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.95.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.16). Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 22.88%. The company had revenue of $635.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $679.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is presently 45.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total transaction of $941,378.90. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 6,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,378.90. This represents a 50.00% 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 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HLI shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings cut Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $210.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Houlihan Lokey from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.12.

Houlihan Lokey Company 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.