Earnest Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC has reduced its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. by 10.7%, now holding approximately 2.0% of the company's stock, making it the fund's fourth largest position.
• Wall Street analysts project growth for Houlihan Lokey, with several institutions raising their target prices, including Wells Fargo's increase to $209.00 and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' upgrade to a $232.00 target.
• Houlihan Lokey has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 1.2%, with a payout ratio currently at 40.40%.

Earnest Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,648,908 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 318,651 shares during the quarter. Houlihan Lokey makes up 2.0% of Earnest Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 3.78% of Houlihan Lokey worth $427,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 111.1% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Motco bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 103.5% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 3,714.3% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Paul Eric Siegert sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total transaction of $7,998,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 22.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Houlihan Lokey stock traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $199.40. The company had a trading volume of 585,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 362,810. The firm has a market cap of $14.02 billion, a PE ratio of 33.57 and a beta of 0.86. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a one year low of $137.99 and a one year high of $201.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $191.01 and a 200 day moving average of $174.70.

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

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

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

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.