18,154 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI Bought by Diversified Management Inc.

Key Points

• Diversified Management Inc. bought 18,154 Houlihan Lokey shares worth approximately $2.29 million, while institutional investors collectively own 78.07% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Houlihan Lokey has an overall “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $159.43, with five Buy, three Hold and one Sell rating.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, with adjusted earnings of $1.35 per share and revenue of $511 million, down 15.6% year over year. Houlihan Lokey also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.70, equal to a 2.2% annualized yield.

Diversified Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 18,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,294,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,751,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $251,551,000 after acquiring an additional 48,126 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 15.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 616,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,540,000 after purchasing an additional 81,182 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 7.6% during the first quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 405,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,307,000 after purchasing an additional 28,600 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 234,404 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,878,000 after purchasing an additional 14,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth $35,728,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $147.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Friday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $164.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $159.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.15, for a total value of $140,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $140,150. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 22.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE HLI opened at $125.75 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.00. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52 week low of $112.83 and a 52 week high of $204.18.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.29). Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 20.20% and a net margin of 16.10%.The firm had revenue of $511.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.14 EPS. The business's revenue was down 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is 47.06%.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank that provides financial advisory services to corporations, institutions, governments and other organizations. The firm focuses on complex strategic, financial and restructuring matters and is known for its independent advisory model.

Its principal businesses include corporate finance, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory. Services include mergers and acquisitions advice, capital-raising and other strategic transactions, restructuring and liability management, fairness opinions, solvency analysis, financial reporting valuations, and transaction opinions.

Founded in 1972, Houlihan Lokey serves clients through offices across North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East.

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