Natixis Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 391,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,334 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $67,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HLI. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 2,606 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 25.2% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 94.7% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 3,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 59.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,262,000 after buying an additional 26,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 2.4% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,616,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of HLI stock opened at $159.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35 and a beta of 0.72. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a twelve month low of $121.81 and a twelve month high of $192.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.93.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $201.00 to $190.00 in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.00.

Houlihan Lokey 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.