Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Sells 71,936 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 29.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 168,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 71,936 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned 0.24% of Houlihan Lokey worth $34,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the third quarter valued at approximately $230,335,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter worth $126,723,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 194.9% during the second quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 546,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,314,000 after acquiring an additional 361,085 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 75.6% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 713,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,495,000 after acquiring an additional 307,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Group LLC bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,115,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of HLI stock opened at $151.32 on Friday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.99 and a 1 year high of $211.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $173.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24 and a beta of 0.95.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.09. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 24.46% and a net margin of 16.91%.Houlihan Lokey’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $218.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $216.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.17.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.17, for a total value of $87,085.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert A. Schriesheim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.86, for a total transaction of $854,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,781,004.52. This represents a 15.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 22.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded in 1972 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company specializes in advisory services across a broad range of transaction types and financial matters. Since its founding, Houlihan Lokey has grown to serve corporations, financial sponsors, and government entities worldwide, providing expertise in complex and high-stakes engagements.

The firm’s core service offerings include mergers and acquisitions advisory, capital markets advisory, financial restructuring and distressed M&A, and valuation and fairness opinions.