Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 34,236 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 533,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 34,236 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $92,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,265,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $914,420,000 after purchasing an additional 98,495 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,615,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,276,000 after buying an additional 21,106 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 2.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 970,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,405,000 after buying an additional 26,564 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter worth about $143,559,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth about $114,047,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $153.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $170.24 and a 200-day moving average of $172.74. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.14 and a 52-week high of $192.10.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on HLI shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $201.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.00.

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.