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

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.18% of Houlihan Lokey worth $19,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 24,074.0% in the second 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 period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 2nd quarter worth about $10,141,000. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.9% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,273,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,507,000 after purchasing an additional 62,314 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake 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 buying an additional 54,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 45,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 target price (up from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.00.

Insider Activity

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 7,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,067,582.49. This represents a 2.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 have sold 1,600 shares of company stock worth $249,860. Corporate insiders own 23.68% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $184.15 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $166.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.11. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.29 and a 1 year high of $190.66. The stock has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66 and a beta of 0.65.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.15. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $574.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.