State of Wyoming Sells 2,142 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• The State of Wyoming reduced its holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. by 43.5%, selling 2,142 shares and owning 2,778 shares valued at $449,000 at the end of the last quarter.
• Houlihan Lokey reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations, and achieved a revenue of $605.35 million, up 17.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.40 and a yield of 1.2%, with a payout ratio of 40.40%.

State of Wyoming lessened its holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 43.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,142 shares during the period. State of Wyoming's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,306,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $857,017,000 after purchasing an additional 41,030 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in 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 worth $217,393,000 after purchasing an additional 20,354 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 772,789 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $134,195,000 after purchasing an additional 73,566 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in 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 worth $1,108,500,000 after purchasing an additional 684,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 620,324 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $107,725,000 after purchasing an additional 19,406 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Paul Eric Siegert sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total value of $7,998,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total transaction of $914,050.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,500 shares of company stock worth $8,998,560. Corporate insiders own 22.83% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE HLI opened at $199.40 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $191.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.73. The stock has a market cap of $14.02 billion, a PE ratio of 33.57 and a beta of 0.86. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.99 and a 12 month high of $201.63.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $573.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis 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

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HLI. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $192.00 price objective (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.40.

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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