Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Shares Sold by Emerald Advisers LLC

Emerald Advisers LLC trimmed its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 99.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 345 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 87,238 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $55,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 38.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,627 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,837 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter valued at $834,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 36.5% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 19,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,500,000 after purchasing an additional 5,217 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth about $2,844,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter worth about $306,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on HLI. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $149.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $154.00 target price (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $157.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total value of $1,263,269.13. 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 stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.49, for a total transaction of $30,498.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,067,582.49. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was 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. Insiders sold a total of 9,917 shares of company stock valued at $1,513,129 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HLI traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $170.42. 257,276 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 321,992. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a PE ratio of 34.85 and a beta of 0.65. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.92 and a 52-week high of $175.73. The business's fifty day moving average price is $160.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.86.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.93 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. Houlihan Lokey's quarterly revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. Analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.63%.

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.