Equitable Trust Co. Sells 1,741 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Equitable Trust Co. lessened its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 44.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,741 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter valued at $76,000. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.3 %

HLI opened at $179.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.32 and a beta of 0.69. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a twelve month low of $121.81 and a twelve month high of $192.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.12.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on HLI. UBS Group increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $194.40.

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.