Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 113 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lowered its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $1,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,265,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $914,420,000 after buying an additional 98,495 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,281,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $569,830,000 after acquiring an additional 208,851 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,875,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,651,000 after purchasing an additional 161,647 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,251,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $217,393,000 after buying an additional 20,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 122.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,041,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,815,000 after purchasing an additional 573,745 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $190.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.00.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 0.3%

HLI opened at $174.69 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $12.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.34 and a beta of 0.83. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.14 and a 12 month high of $192.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $165.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.99.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.35. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The business had revenue of $666.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $628.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is 41.24%.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total transaction of $86,510.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total value of $1,431,109.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 23.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey, Inc, an investment banking company, provides merger and acquisition (M&A), capital market, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Corporate Finance, Financial Restructuring, and Financial and Valuation Advisory.