Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 26.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,401 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $1,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the third quarter valued at approximately $230,335,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 2nd quarter valued at $126,723,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 194.9% in the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 546,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $98,314,000 after purchasing an additional 361,085 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 75.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 713,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,495,000 after purchasing an additional 307,214 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Group LLC purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 2nd quarter worth $34,115,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $218.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. 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 research report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $216.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.17.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of HLI opened at $165.85 on Tuesday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.99 and a twelve month high of $211.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $177.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.48 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.