Vestcor Inc Has $1.11 Million Stock Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Vestcor Inc trimmed its holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 62.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,518 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $1,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 49,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,008,000 after buying an additional 6,253 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 29,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,598,000 after acquiring an additional 9,891 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter worth $18,964,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 415,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,143,000 after acquiring an additional 22,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter valued at about $1,033,000. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 6,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.26, for a total value of $941,378.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 6,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,378.90. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.40, for a total transaction of $71,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,700. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 22.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $177.00 to $172.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group set a $160.00 price objective on Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $205.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.29.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $136.86 on Tuesday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.41 and a fifty-two week high of $211.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $149.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $162.62. The company has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.95.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.16). Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 22.88%. The company had revenue of $635.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $679.22 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is currently 45.02%.

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.