Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 8.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 273,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,749 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $46,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 8,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,293,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 12.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.5% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 21,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,443,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 264.5% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on HLI. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,109,496.08. This trade represents a 2.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 23.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

HLI opened at $178.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.41 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $178.29 and a 200 day moving average of $157.26. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.17 and a fifty-two week high of $192.10.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.93 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend 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.