Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) is Montanaro Asset Management Ltd's 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• Montanaro Asset Management Ltd reduced its stake in Houlihan Lokey, selling 15,500 shares and decreasing its ownership by 16.3%, now holding 79,500 shares valued at approximately $12.8 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC and GAMMA Investing LLC, have either bought new positions or increased their stakes in Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter.
• Houlihan Lokey reported a significant earnings beat in its latest quarterly results, with EPS at $2.14 compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69, along with a year-over-year revenue increase of 17.8%.

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 16.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,500 shares during the period. Houlihan Lokey makes up approximately 3.8% of Montanaro Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.11% of Houlihan Lokey worth $12,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $619,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,895,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter valued at $210,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 31.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 4,056 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total transaction of $1,431,109.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,508 shares of company stock worth $2,431,670 in the last 90 days. 22.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of HLI stock traded down $3.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $190.67. 294,742 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 404,797. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.10 and a beta of 0.86. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.99 and a 52-week high of $198.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.45. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.46% and a return on equity of 23.75%. The firm had revenue of $605.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $573.07 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.40%.

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.