Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Shares Sold by Granite Investment Partners LLC

Granite Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,108 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Houlihan Lokey worth $6,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HLI. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 29,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,056,000 after acquiring an additional 3,460 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 12,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 23,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,003,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,002,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $179.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $192.00 price target (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $183.40.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE HLI traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $153.17. The company had a trading volume of 225,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,147. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.14 and a 52-week high of $192.10. The stock has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.92.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 16.00%. On average, equities analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.51%.

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.