Aviva PLC Sells 806 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Aviva PLC cut its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 19.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 806 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth $143,559,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter worth about $114,047,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 731.6% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 347,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,341,000 after acquiring an additional 305,685 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 341.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 307,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,366,000 after acquiring an additional 237,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the third quarter worth about $24,177,000. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on HLI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $179.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four equities 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 company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $183.40.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HLI opened at $149.83 on Friday. 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 $10.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.59 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $165.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.20.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is 43.51%.

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.