Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI Position Reduced by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 4.8%, selling 25,759 shares in the first quarter, which brings their total ownership to 507,581 shares valued at approximately $81.97 million.
• Analysts are bullish on Houlihan Lokey, with several firms raising their target prices; **Wells Fargo** increased its price target from $185 to $209, while **Morgan Stanley** raised theirs from $159 to $192.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60, payable on September 15th, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.2%, with a payout ratio of 40.40%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 507,581 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,759 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.72% of Houlihan Lokey worth $81,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,306,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $857,017,000 after purchasing an additional 41,030 shares in the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,251,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $217,393,000 after buying an additional 20,354 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 39,574.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 686,375 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,108,500,000 after buying an additional 684,645 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter valued at $81,420,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 3.0% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 402,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,046,000 after buying an additional 11,709 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE HLI traded down $2.91 on Friday, reaching $205.24. 342,286 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 388,850. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.55 and a beta of 0.86. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.99 and a fifty-two week high of $208.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $194.45 and a 200 day moving average of $176.33.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.45. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.46% and a return on equity of 23.75%. The firm had revenue of $605.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $573.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Houlihan Lokey's revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is 40.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Paul Eric Siegert sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total value of $7,998,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total transaction of $914,050.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,500 shares of company stock worth $9,010,160 over the last three months. 22.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $232.00 in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.60.

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.