Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Has $84,000 Stock Position in 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 stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 85.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 521 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,947 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $84,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $619,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,895,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $210,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 9.7% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,520 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.40.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of HLI traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $189.74. 356,403 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 412,984. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.99 and a 12-month high of $198.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.09. The company has a market cap of $13.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94 and a beta of 0.86.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $573.07 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total transaction of $914,050.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were 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 quarter, insiders have sold 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,670. Insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Company 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.