Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 5,626 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,626 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $6,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HLI. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,122,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $190.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.00.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLI traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $174.81. The stock had a trading volume of 328,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,964. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.36 and a beta of 0.82. The business's 50-day moving average price is $163.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.41. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.14 and a 52 week high of $192.10.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $666.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $628.25 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The firm's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. Analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total transaction of $1,431,109.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 23.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.