Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 424,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 64,052 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $73,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,305,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,260,000 after buying an additional 13,750 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,133,000 after purchasing an additional 84,757 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,041,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,506,000 after purchasing an additional 41,470 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 956,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,376,000 after purchasing an additional 157,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 874,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,291,000 after purchasing an additional 82,002 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,700. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $941,378.90. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HLI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $177.00 to $172.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group set a $160.00 price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target 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, Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.29.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 3.0%

NYSE:HLI opened at $141.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $149.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $162.40. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.41 and a twelve month high of $211.78. The company has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.95.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its earnings results 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). Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 22.88%. The business had revenue of $635.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $679.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is 45.02%.

About Houlihan Lokey

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.