New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $23.30 Million Stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 17.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,281 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 30,071 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.21% of Houlihan Lokey worth $23,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 744.2% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 550 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at $105,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 101.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 613 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

HLI traded up $3.99 on Thursday, hitting $198.49. 124,180 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 360,298. The stock's fifty day moving average is $178.82 and its 200-day moving average is $171.21. The company has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09 and a beta of 0.83. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.99 and a 12 month high of $198.49.

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

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on HLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $192.00 price target (up from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total value of $1,431,109.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,508 shares of company stock worth $2,431,670 over the last three months. Insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Company 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.