New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 174,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,624 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.25% of Houlihan Lokey worth $30,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 81.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the 3rd quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the 3rd quarter valued at about $92,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $192.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $194.40.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of HLI traded down $4.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $171.07. The stock had a trading volume of 374,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 409,366. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $177.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.52. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.81 and a fifty-two week high of $192.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.65 and a beta of 0.69.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. As a group, analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is currently 43.51%.

About Houlihan Lokey

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.