Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 62,868 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 648,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 62,868 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.93% of Houlihan Lokey worth $112,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HLI. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 2,606 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 59.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,262,000 after purchasing an additional 26,522 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 24.8% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,277,000 after purchasing an additional 2,864 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, OneAscent Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter valued at $330,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on HLI shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $201.00 to $190.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $180.00 to $179.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.00.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE HLI opened at $161.50 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $173.82 and its 200-day moving average is $172.10. The company has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.82 and a beta of 0.72. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.81 and a 12-month high of $192.10.

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

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is presently 43.51%.

About Houlihan Lokey

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.