Insider Selling: Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) Director Sells $854,300.00 in Stock

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Director Robert 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 value of $854,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,781,004.52. This represents a 15.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

HLI opened at $166.15 on Friday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.99 and a fifty-two week high of $211.78. The company has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $178.29 and a 200-day moving average of $187.14.

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

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Houlihan Lokey

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 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 acquiring an additional 13,750 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,133,000 after purchasing an additional 84,757 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 36,144 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,156,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $230,335,000. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $218.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target 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 cut their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $216.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.17.

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.