American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 816 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $3,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 194.9% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HLI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $154.00 target price (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $153.00.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $158.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a PE ratio of 38.50 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $151.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.40. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a one year low of $94.67 and a one year high of $162.84.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 18.80%. The company had revenue of $514.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $508.70 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.47%.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total value of $155,290.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.49, for a total value of $30,498.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,001 shares in the company, valued at $1,067,582.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total transaction of $155,290.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,717 shares of company stock valued at $1,479,513 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 25.97% of the company’s stock.

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.