Brown Advisory Inc. Trims Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Brown Advisory Inc. trimmed its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 140,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,828 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $24,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 78.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HLI shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $205.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $210.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.29.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE HLI opened at $139.76 on Tuesday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.83 and a 52 week high of $211.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $149.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.39.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $635.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $679.22 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 22.88% and a net margin of 16.26%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is presently 45.02%.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the business’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 transaction of $71,700.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,700. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

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.