Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Invests $1.94 Million in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,942,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 14.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 49,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,008,000 after acquiring an additional 6,253 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 50.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 29,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,598,000 after acquiring an additional 9,891 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth $18,964,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 415,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,143,000 after acquiring an additional 22,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter worth $1,033,000. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, General Counsel Christopher M. 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 sale, the general counsel owned 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,700. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total value of $941,378.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 6,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,378.90. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HLI shares. UBS Group set a $160.00 target price on Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $177.00 to $172.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.29.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE HLI opened at $151.30 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.65. The company has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.99. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.41 and a 12 month high of $211.78.

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

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.59%.

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.