Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Takes Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 117,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.17% of Houlihan Lokey as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HLI. Faithward Advisors LLC increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 19,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,782,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 55.6% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at approximately $382,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,728,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 85.1% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 3,451 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HLI shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $205.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings cut Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $177.00 to $172.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $210.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.29.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman owned 6,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,378.90. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $71,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,700. The trade was 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 company insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:HLI opened at $138.73 on Friday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.83 and a 1 year high of $211.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.22. The firm has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.95.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.16). Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 22.88%. The firm had revenue of $635.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $679.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 8.54 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is 45.02%.

Houlihan Lokey 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.