Hilton Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Hilton Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 11.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,364 shares during the period. Hilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $2,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HLI. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 0.8% in the third quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 8,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,293,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 12.6% in 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 last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 21,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,443,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of HLI stock opened at $185.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.83 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $168.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.57. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a one year low of $102.29 and a one year high of $190.66.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.93 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.63%.

Insider Activity

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,601 shares in the company, valued at $1,109,496.08. The trade was a 2.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. Insiders have sold 1,400 shares of company stock valued at $219,362 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 23.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on HLI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. 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 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 price target (up from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.00.

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.