Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 29.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 123,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,246 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $19,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth approximately $306,000. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 102,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,106,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 12.3% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 32,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,216,000 after buying an additional 2,187 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 4,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HLI opened at $184.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66 and a beta of 0.65. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.29 and a fifty-two week high of $190.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.11.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $537.93 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is 46.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 price objective (up from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the company’s 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,600 shares of company stock valued at $249,860. 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.