State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 3,381 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. by 19.7% during the first quarter, selling 3,381 shares, resulting in total holdings worth approximately $2.23 million.
• Houlihan Lokey reported strong quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $2.14 that exceeded estimates by $0.45, and a revenue of $605.35 million, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 17.8%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.2%, payable on September 15th to shareholders on record as of September 2nd.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 19.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,381 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $2,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,306,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $857,017,000 after acquiring an additional 41,030 shares in the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,251,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $217,393,000 after purchasing an additional 20,354 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 772,789 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $134,195,000 after purchasing an additional 73,566 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 39,574.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 686,375 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,108,500,000 after purchasing an additional 684,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 620,324 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $107,725,000 after purchasing an additional 19,406 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total transaction of $914,050.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was 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. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLI traded down $1.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $199.32. 36,709 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 400,377. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.99 and a 52-week high of $201.25. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $189.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.29. The company has a market capitalization of $14.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.56 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $192.00 target price (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.40.

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.