Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) General Counsel Christopher Crain Sells 500 Shares of Stock

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) General Counsel Christopher Crain sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $71,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,700. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of HLI stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $141.13. 625,677 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 602,768. The company has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.78. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.41 and a 1-year high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.09. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 24.46% and a net margin of 16.91%.Houlihan Lokey’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 13,750 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 362.1% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,703,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,706,000 after buying an additional 1,334,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,133,000 after acquiring an additional 84,757 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,225,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,613,000 after acquiring an additional 36,144 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 2,723.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,199,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $208,934,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156,973 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLI has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $196.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $210.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $216.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.86.

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.