Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI Shares Sold by Congress Asset Management Co.

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management Co. has reduced its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. by 13.1% during Q2, now holding 438,060 shares worth approximately $78.8 million.
• Recent analyst reports have shown increased price targets for Houlihan Lokey, with Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo raising their targets to $213.00 and $209.00 respectively, while maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.2% with a payout ratio of 40.40%.

Congress Asset Management Co. cut its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 13.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 438,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 66,089 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.63% of Houlihan Lokey worth $78,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Bogart Wealth LLC increased 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Motco purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in 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 worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, July 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 6,811 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.75, for a total value of $1,380,930.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total transaction of $98,110.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,311 shares of company stock worth $10,391,090. Corporate insiders own 22.83% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

NYSE:HLI opened at $205.38 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $197.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.95. The firm has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.58 and a beta of 0.86. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a one year low of $137.99 and a one year high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $605.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $573.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The company's revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

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

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.

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