JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Stock Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• JPMorgan increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 9% to 174,695 shares (about 0.25% of the company), and several large institutions — including Mayflower, Norges Bank, Thrivent, Champlain and Qube — have recently built or boosted positions, leaving institutional ownership at 78.07%.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but mildly positive: five Buys and four Holds yield a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $204.57, even as some firms trimmed targets; the stock trades well below that target (around $139) with a market cap of $9.73B.
• Fundamentals show a recent beat—quarterly EPS of $1.94 vs. $1.85 consensus and revenue up 13% YoY—while the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.60 (1.7% yield) and insiders have recently sold shares (insider ownership ~22.83%).

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 174,695 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,483 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.25% of Houlihan Lokey worth $35,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter worth about $230,335,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter valued at about $126,723,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 194.9% during the second quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 546,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $98,314,000 after purchasing an additional 361,085 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 75.6% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 713,494 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $146,495,000 after purchasing an additional 307,214 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 153.8% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 274,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,376,000 after purchasing an additional 166,285 shares during the period. 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 several research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $218.00 to $214.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $243.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $216.00 to $215.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.57.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:HLI opened at $139.35 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $166.23 and a 200 day moving average of $180.05. The stock has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41 and a beta of 0.95. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $136.68 and a 12 month high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.09. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 24.46%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.17, for a total value of $87,085.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert A. Schriesheim sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.86, for a total value of $854,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,781,004.52. The trade was a 15.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded in 1972 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company specializes in advisory services across a broad range of transaction types and financial matters. Since its founding, Houlihan Lokey has grown to serve corporations, financial sponsors, and government entities worldwide, providing expertise in complex and high-stakes engagements.

The firm's core service offerings include mergers and acquisitions advisory, capital markets advisory, financial restructuring and distressed M&A, and valuation and fairness opinions.

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