VELA Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

VELA Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 56.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,094 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $740,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 24,074.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 501,610 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $67,647,000 after purchasing an additional 499,535 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 87.2% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 347,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,503,000 after acquiring an additional 161,753 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 2nd quarter worth about $10,141,000. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,273,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $441,507,000 after acquiring an additional 62,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 183,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,072,000 after purchasing an additional 54,386 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on HLI. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $149.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $154.00 price target (up from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $157.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total transaction of $1,263,269.13. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total transaction of $155,290.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total transaction of $1,263,269.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,917 shares of company stock worth $1,513,129. Corporate insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

NYSE HLI traded down $1.46 on Friday, reaching $171.31. 568,915 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 322,297. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.92 and a fifty-two week high of $175.73. The firm has a market cap of $11.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.03 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $160.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.55.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.15. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 19.67%. The company had revenue of $574.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $537.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is currently 46.63%.

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.