KBC Group NV Trims Stock Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

KBC Group NV cut its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 88.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,608 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,265,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $914,420,000 after buying an additional 98,495 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,281,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $569,830,000 after buying an additional 208,851 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,875,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $325,651,000 after buying an additional 161,647 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,251,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $217,393,000 after buying an additional 20,354 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 122.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,041,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $180,815,000 after buying an additional 573,745 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total transaction of $86,510.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total value of $914,050.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,508 shares of company stock worth $2,431,670. 23.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

HLI stock opened at $185.51 on Friday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.48 and a 1 year high of $192.10. The firm has a market cap of $12.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.34.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.35. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 21.61% and a net margin of 16.73%. The business had revenue of $666.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $628.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $192.20.

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.

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