PineStone Asset Management Inc. Lowers Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

PineStone Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,200 shares during the quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Houlihan Lokey worth $10,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 666.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 283,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,831,000 after acquiring an additional 246,705 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 341.0% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 307,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,366,000 after purchasing an additional 237,615 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the third quarter worth about $24,177,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 601,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,974,000 after purchasing an additional 149,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 693,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,525,000 after buying an additional 132,516 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $178.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02 and a beta of 0.69. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52-week low of $121.81 and a 52-week high of $192.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $177.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.46.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Equities research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is currently 43.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HLI. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $192.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $194.40.

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.