Bell Asset Management Ltd Lowers Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Bell Asset Management Ltd lowered its position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 378 shares during the quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $5,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HLI. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,205,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley raised Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $201.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $179.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.00.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 4.5 %

Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $146.40 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $169.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.89. The company has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.94 and a beta of 0.83. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.14 and a 52 week high of $192.10.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is 43.51%.

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.