T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. by 7.4%, now owning approximately 1.71% of the company valued at $194 million.
• Houlihan Lokey recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.14, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.45, with a revenue of $605.35 million for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60, representing an annualized yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 40.40%.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,201,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 96,369 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 1.71% of Houlihan Lokey worth $194,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HLI. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 111.1% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Motco purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 103.5% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 3,714.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLI traded up $3.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $199.47. 98,341 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 400,773. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.11. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.99 and a 1 year high of $199.56. The company has a market cap of $14.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.56 and a beta of 0.86.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.46% and a return on equity of 23.75%. The company had revenue of $605.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $573.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $192.00 price target (up from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company's 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 available at this link. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was 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 own 22.83% of the company's stock.

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.