Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. cut its position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 79.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,385 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $81,420,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter valued at $46,236,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1,946.8% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 275,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,486,000 after acquiring an additional 262,000 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1,168.0% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 239,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,683,000 after purchasing an additional 220,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at $29,919,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of HLI opened at $201.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.88 and a beta of 0.87. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.99 and a 12 month high of $211.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $198.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.80.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.45. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 16.46%.The business had revenue of $605.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $573.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on HLI. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Zacks Research lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Paul Eric Siegert sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total transaction of $7,998,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 6,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.75, for a total transaction of $1,380,930.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,311 shares of company stock worth $9,477,040 over the last 90 days. 22.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.