Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,012 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $1,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 113,571.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,157,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $449,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,152,726 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,123,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $334,563,000 after acquiring an additional 34,580 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,845,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $248,023,000 after acquiring an additional 437,656 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,760,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,667,000 after acquiring an additional 17,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 56.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,723,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,761,000 after acquiring an additional 978,776 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of HLI opened at $127.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.55 and a beta of 0.68. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.89 and a 1 year high of $133.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.65.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $511.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $493.02 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 14.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on HLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $127.00 target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Monday, January 29th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.94, for a total value of $128,940.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 25.97% of the company’s stock.

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.