Royce & Associates LP Sells 4,941 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Royce & Associates LP cut its position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 48,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,941 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $8,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings 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 valued at $8,008,000 after acquiring an additional 6,253 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $4,598,000 after acquiring an additional 9,891 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at about $18,964,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $67,143,000 after acquiring an additional 22,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter valued at about $1,033,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE HLI opened at $145.75 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $149.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $164.59. The firm has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.99. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.41 and a 52 week 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 the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.16). Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 22.88% and a net margin of 16.26%.The company had revenue of $635.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $679.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $71,700.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,700. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $941,378.90. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $177.00 to $172.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $210.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.29.

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.