Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI Shares Sold by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Key Points

• Flputnam Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in Houlihan Lokey, selling 4,857 shares, resulting in a total ownership of 165,024 shares valued at approximately $26.7 million.
• Several institutional investors made significant changes to their positions, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which increased its holdings by nearly 39,575%, and now owns over $1.1 billion in shares.
• Houlihan Lokey recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, with a payout ratio of 40.40%, and will be paid to investors of record on September 2nd.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. reduced its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 165,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,857 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. owned about 0.24% of Houlihan Lokey worth $26,651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HLI. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 39,574.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 686,375 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,108,500,000 after acquiring an additional 684,645 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter valued at $81,420,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter valued at $46,236,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 1,946.8% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 275,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,486,000 after acquiring an additional 262,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter valued at $29,919,000. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $914,050.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,500 shares of company stock worth $8,998,560 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 22.83% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $199.40 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.02 billion, a P/E 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.

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

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts 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 reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $192.00 target price (up from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $232.00 in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.40.

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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