Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. has reduced its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. by 5.0%, now holding approximately 1.70% of the company, valued at $192 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Cerity Partners LLC and Barclays PLC, increased their stakes in Houlihan Lokey significantly during the last quarter.
• Houlihan Lokey recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, signaling a 1.3% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 40.40%.

Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,189,822 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 62,009 shares during the period. Houlihan Lokey comprises approximately 2.0% of Burgundy Asset Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. owned 1.70% of Houlihan Lokey worth $192,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HLI. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,331 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 12,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 58,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,145,000 after acquiring an additional 21,601 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,122,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter valued at $594,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 2.8%

HLI traded up $5.4140 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $197.4340. The stock had a trading volume of 116,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 401,202. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $187.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.07. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.99 and a 1 year high of $198.78. The stock has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a PE ratio of 33.24 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued 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 presently 40.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HLI shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $192.00 target price (up from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.40.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total transaction of $86,510.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total value of $914,050.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 22.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Profile

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.