Deutsche Bank AG Trims Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Deutsche Bank AG reduced its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 62.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,212 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,879 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $1,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 4.8% in the fourth 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 increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,122,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 5.7% in 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 worth $655,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.00.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

HLI stock traded down $2.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $174.19. 305,954 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 353,147. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.14 and a 52 week high of $192.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24 and a beta of 0.82.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $628.25 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Houlihan Lokey's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. 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 (DPR) is 41.24%.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total value of $1,431,109.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey 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.