Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Sells 2,947 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd reduced its holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. by 85%, selling 2,947 shares during the first quarter and holding only 521 shares worth $84,000 at quarter's end.
• Analysts have upgraded Houlihan Lokey's rating, with Wall Street Zen changing it from "hold" to "buy" and several others increasing target prices significantly, reflecting positive sentiment around the stock.
• Houlihan Lokey recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, contributing to an annualized yield of 1.3%, with a payout ratio of 40.40% which indicates a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd cut its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 85.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 521 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,947 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $84,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $619,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 1.1% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,895,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth $210,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 9.7% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 145.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 2,520 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total value of $1,431,109.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total value of $86,510.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,670. Company insiders own 22.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HLI. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $232.00 in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.40.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:HLI traded down $1.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $191.96. 125,171 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 405,888. The company has a market capitalization of $13.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.31 and a beta of 0.86. The company's 50 day moving average is $183.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.13. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.99 and a twelve month high of $198.78.

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

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is currently 40.40%.

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.