Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 51,246 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 29.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,095 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 51,246 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.18% of Houlihan Lokey worth $19,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $67,647,000 after buying an additional 499,535 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter worth about $10,141,000. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 62,314 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 42.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 54,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 6.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 776,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $104,697,000 after purchasing an additional 45,205 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on HLI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $149.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $157.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total value of $33,616.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,109,496.08. This represents a 2.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,600 shares of company stock worth $249,860 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of HLI stock traded down $1.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $183.04. 56,512 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 321,097. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.11. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.29 and a 52-week high of $190.66.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $537.93 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm 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 yield of 1.25%. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is 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.