Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stock Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 708,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,647 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $123,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HLI. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 153.8% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 274,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,376,000 after purchasing an additional 166,285 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 19.7% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 956,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,376,000 after purchasing an additional 157,605 shares during the period. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 411.1% in the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 170,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,031,000 after purchasing an additional 137,237 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 25.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 589,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,953,000 after purchasing an additional 119,440 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter valued at $18,964,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HLI. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $177.00 to $172.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $210.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $205.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.29.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $71,700.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,700. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 22.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

HLI opened at $150.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a PE ratio of 24.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $149.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.28. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.41 and a 12-month high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $635.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $679.22 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 22.88%. The company’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.59%.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded in 1972 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company specializes in advisory services across a broad range of transaction types and financial matters. Since its founding, Houlihan Lokey has grown to serve corporations, financial sponsors, and government entities worldwide, providing expertise in complex and high-stakes engagements.

The firm’s core service offerings include mergers and acquisitions advisory, capital markets advisory, financial restructuring and distressed M&A, and valuation and fairness opinions.