BNP Paribas Financial Markets Trims Stock Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,394 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.12% of Houlihan Lokey worth $13,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HLI. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,273,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,507,000 after purchasing an additional 62,314 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,087,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $416,434,000 after buying an additional 38,155 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 6.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 776,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,697,000 after buying an additional 45,205 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 693,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,525,000 after buying an additional 132,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 601,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,974,000 after acquiring an additional 149,114 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 0.9 %

HLI stock opened at $189.09 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $13.14 billion, a PE ratio of 38.67 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.47. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $105.34 and a fifty-two week high of $192.10.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.93 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 19.29%. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total transaction of $33,616.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,109,496.08. The trade was a 2.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total value of $155,290.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,400 shares of company stock worth $219,362. 23.68% of the stock is owned by company 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.