BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Grows Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 57.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,600 shares during the period. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. owned about 0.07% of Houlihan Lokey worth $9,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,305,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,260,000 after acquiring an additional 13,750 shares in the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,225,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $220,613,000 after purchasing an additional 36,144 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the third quarter worth about $230,335,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 4.1% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,041,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,506,000 after purchasing an additional 41,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 2.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,462,000 after purchasing an additional 21,132 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.17, for a total transaction of $87,085.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert A. Schriesheim sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.86, for a total transaction of $854,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,781,004.52. The trade was a 15.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE HLI opened at $147.22 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $173.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.59. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.99 and a 52 week high of $211.78. The stock has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61 and a beta of 0.95.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.09. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 24.46% and a net margin of 16.91%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $218.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $216.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Friday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.17.

About Houlihan Lokey

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.