Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) General Counsel Sells $140,150.00 in Stock

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) General Counsel Christopher Crain sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.15, for a total transaction of $140,150.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $140,150. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HLI opened at $137.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $133.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.66. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52-week low of $112.83 and a 52-week high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.29). Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 20.20% and a net margin of 16.10%.The company had revenue of $511.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $602.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 13,041.9% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 8,459,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,134,665,000 after acquiring an additional 8,395,075 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 362.1% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,703,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,334,769 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 2,723.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,199,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $208,934,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156,973 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth $115,478,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter worth $35,728,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on HLI. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. US Capital Advisors set a $187.00 target price on Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Friday, July 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $164.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.38.

About Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank that provides financial advisory services to corporations, financial sponsors, governments and other institutions. Its principal activities include mergers and acquisitions, capital markets advisory, financial restructuring, and valuation and financial opinions.

The company advises clients on acquisitions, divestitures, strategic alternatives, recapitalizations, fairness opinions and other complex financial matters. Its restructuring business supports companies, creditors and other stakeholders dealing with distressed situations, while its valuation and financial advisory practice provides analyses related to financial reporting, tax, litigation and strategic planning.

Founded in 1972, Houlihan Lokey has expanded from its origins in the United States into an international advisory firm serving clients across North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and other global markets.