Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Shares Sold by Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lowered its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 355 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $2,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HLI. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $70,225,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 792,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,977,000 after purchasing an additional 286,746 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 693,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,128,000 after purchasing an additional 194,867 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 87.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 347,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,503,000 after purchasing an additional 161,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,074,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $608,459,000 after buying an additional 143,560 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $148.00 to $146.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 price target (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.60.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total transaction of $155,290.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Houlihan Lokey news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.49, for a total value of $30,498.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,001 shares in the company, valued at $1,067,582.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total value of $155,290.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,619 shares of company stock valued at $2,818,759. 25.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

HLI stock opened at $160.30 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $150.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.00 and a beta of 0.67. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.67 and a fifty-two week high of $160.89.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22. The company had revenue of $514.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $508.70 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 18.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.47%.

Houlihan Lokey Company 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.