Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 544,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 92,453 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.78% of Houlihan Lokey worth $94,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,305,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,260,000 after purchasing an additional 13,750 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,133,000 after buying an additional 84,757 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,041,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,506,000 after buying an additional 41,470 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 956,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,376,000 after buying an additional 157,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 874,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,291,000 after buying an additional 82,002 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total value of $71,700.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,700. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total value of $941,378.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 6,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,378.90. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $205.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research cut Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $210.00 to $184.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $177.00 to $172.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.29.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $141.22 on Wednesday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.41 and a 52 week high of $211.78. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.40. The firm has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.02%.

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.