Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Shares Sold by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 107 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $1,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State of Michigan Retirement System acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at $1,487,000. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,043,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth about $1,271,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 40,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,822,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $668,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.94, for a total value of $128,940.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 25.97% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of HLI opened at $125.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03 and a beta of 0.68. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.89 and a 12 month high of $133.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $127.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.77.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $511.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $493.02 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 14.90%. The business’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 4.42 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid 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 1.76%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $127.00 price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Tuesday.

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.